


The Third

by ConCorpRepresentative



Category: Hermitcraft RPF
Genre: Blood, Blood Magic, Blood and Gore, Broken Bones, Gen, Gore
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-13
Updated: 2020-06-13
Packaged: 2021-03-03 20:34:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 47
Words: 53,137
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24701626
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ConCorpRepresentative/pseuds/ConCorpRepresentative
Summary: When Ren wakes up in an unfamiliar swamp with emerald green trees and sugar-flavoured water, he has no idea the shadow about to consume the server whole.A story of Demons, Ancient Beings, Magic, and a world on the brink of destruction.(Includes a fair bit Blood and Gore, please do not read if you're sensitive to that, I do not wish to hurt anyone)
Comments: 15
Kudos: 58





	1. Prelude- The Bloody One

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just want to issue a warning for this story: it gets quite intense in the blood and gore department- especially towards the end. If you aren't comfortable with that sort of thing, it's best to leave now. My apologies if it offends you in any way, that is not my intention.  
> Thank you!

Four deities sat in the darkness of the void, furious silence tipping the atmosphere into regions of frost. There was nothing on their minds but hostility towards each other.

The Northmost deity spoke. Its corporeal form was made from thick flames curling around each other, radiating heat into the hostile cold.

“Why am I here? I broke my contract with the human.” Its voice was gravelly.

The Southmost deity- a small creature tinted blue, with wings that crackled with gentle electricity, and an ever smiling face- replied, exasperated.

“They’re still your responsibility. Our actions made this happen.”

The West deity chuckled. His body blended into the surroundings, save for 2 glowing red eyes. He leant forward, casting an accusatory finger across the void.

“We all know who caused this.”

The deity in the East let out a deep growl. His semi-tangible form dripped thick red liquid into the nothingness below. He refused to look at any of his companions.

“Can you blame me? You all have contracts-”

“Had.” The North entity interjected.

“And I have no one.” The East spat.

“Maybe there’s a reason for that, Bloody One.”


	2. Blackout Drunk

The swamp was dark in the early morning dew. Thin wisps of sunlight refracted through the mangrove vines, casting shadows that took the form of long arms. As a thin breeze rasped its way through the long grass and flowers, Ren stirred. His bed, lazilly placed in the mud, creaked as he shifted, and the light disturbed his sleep.

He opened his eyes, moving his arm to shield them from the glaring brightness. Taking a moment to wake up, he reached into the grass below and picked up his sunglasses. Rubbing the grime from the lenses and putting them on, he shook his head as sight regained.

Ren preferred to wear prescription sunglasses over contact lenses- though the colours of the flowers ended up looking dim and dull. He sat up, frowning as the duvet fell into the mud.

“Oh…” He whispered. Turning his attention to the landscape around him, he let out a clicking sound with his tongue.

_ ‘How on Earth…?’  _ He thought to himself, nervously rapping his knuckles against the bed frame,  _ ‘Did I get blackout drunk?’ _

Considering he rarely drank, this was not the most likely answer.

Ren’s stomach turned as he stood, the shadow of the trees presenting themselves as monsters. He fumbled around for his communicator, thankfully finding it, and opened up the chat.

**Renthedog: hey Cub!**

**cubfan135: hey**

**Renthedog: Is X awake? I’m in a bit of a predicament**

**cubfan135: I think he’s afking at the raid farm**

**cubfan135: want me to msg him?**

**Renthedog: Nah, it’s good**

**joehillssays: Everything alright Ren?**

**Renthedog: woke up in a swamp?**

**Renthedog: don’t remember getting here?**

**Renthedog: it's fine though, I’m working it out**

Ren closed the communicator, looking around once more. He never knew how the other Hermits AFKed so much- he hated the feeling of disassociation it brought him. It always took a few days to clear and left him feeling queasy.

Whispering a few words of encouragement towards himself, he took a deep breath in.

“I’ll make the best of a bad situation, I suppose.”

And so he started exploring.

Unsure of what he was looking for; he rolled his jeans up, took his shoes and socks off, and began to wade through the shallow pools. The water was icy cold, but oddly pure for the muddy biome. As he ambled through, it became further apparent that no mud or seaweed was clinging to his shins. Humming in interest, he leant down and cupped some water in his hands. And with a suspicious look around for any Hermits, he took a small drink from the clear swamp water.

“Oh. My. God.” Ren muttered, taking another sip of the water.

It tasted like nothing he’d ever drank before- sweet, like sugar; but with a tinge of a flavour he couldn’t recognise. For lack of a better explanation, the water on his tongue reminded him of Peace.

It tasted like Joy.

———

Cub came through the nether portal and into the Halloween district, the disassembling particles drifting away from his skin. Seeing the surroundings lifeless, he checked his communicator. Reading back in the chat, he compared the swamps around him to Ren’s message. Cub frequently checked up on his friends without them knowing, and Ren’s cryptic comments didn’t change that in any way- he had a certain...  _ talent _ of finding where people were with little information.

But as the Halloween district seemed empty, it seemed his plan was foiled before it had begun.

“REN?” He called out, climbing down the steps from the portal and towards the graveyard. In the distance, the Deadquarters and Scar’s mansion loomed over him.

“REN?”

Crouching down at the pumpkin patch, he continued to call out his friend’s name- without a response from Ren, he resolved to leave. Turning his head, however, he heard a different voice.

“Well I’m not Ren, but technically we’re all the same atom-wise, so basically I am exactly what you’re lookin’ for!” Joe Hills emerged from his Barovian church, holding a book and quill in his hands.

“Joe, my man!” Cub turned around, a smile emerging on his face.

“Howdy, Cub!” Joe walked down the steps, giving Cub a hug as a greeting, “You here looking for Ren?”

“Yeah! He’s not here, I’m assuming?”

“No. Not physically, at least. He’ll always be with us in spirit.”

Cub laughed, momentarily forgetting his goal. As it returned, however, he frowned.

“Where is Ren?”

“He said in a swamp, right? I don’t know of any other swamps besides here.” Joe tapped the quill against his lip.

“We should probably go and ask X, right? He has the master map of the world somewhere.”

“I hope Ren’s okay. I’ve been gettin’ a bad vibe around the server for weeks now. Somethin’ could be goin’ awry.”

“Bad vibe? What do you mean?”

“Feels like I’m bein’ watched.”


	3. Blood is Thicker than Water

Ren had begun to wash in the water.

Each day further he spent in contact with the pure water was another day he felt calmer and more at peace. A lot of his worries had calmed, and he spent a lot of his time meditating and planting flowers. He was keeping in contact with the other Hermits- regularly sending messages through the communicator. They seemed relieved when he entered the chat, and he too felt a sense of happiness when he got a greeting from one of his friends.

He had been in the swamp for about a week.

The air in and around the swamp was as pure as the water. Ren hadn’t made any moves to return to the main island, in case he just got more lost. He was working with Xisuma and Cub to try and work out his co-ordinates, and although he had begun to understand the swamp more, his location in relation to everything else was skewed.

He crouched down, his shins sinking into the mud ever so slightly. He had long stopped rolling his jeans down, and kept them as rudimentary shorts to make the pond wondering easier. The Lily in front of him was just blooming, and he kept his eyes on it as the flower opened right there. He laughed, watching as an eye peered back at him from the centre of the bud.

“Oh!” Ren recoiled, and the flower’s eye followed, “Hello there.”

The petals closed over the eye momentarily, creating the effect of blinking. When the eye opened once again, it looked directly to him.

“You are one pretty girl!” He laughed, stroking the leaf.

_ ‘Thank you’ _

Ren recoiled. He took a few deep breaths.

“What?”

There was no response from the plant. Ren believed he had misheard.

He stood up from the plant, his legs coated in thick mud. The viscous feeling of the substance coating his shins suddenly felt unbearable. He could feel the grime sticking to every one of his hairs- every bit of his skin- every cell.

And it was claustrophobic.

And it was uncomfortable.

And it was trapping. 

Ren rushed to the water, his legs seizing up under the captivity of the mud. He tripped, getting the substance smeared across his face, and most of his shirt. Staggering to his feet, he hastily removed his shirt and dived into the water.

And it was cool.

And it was peace.

And it was relief.

He let himself drift to the surface, feeling the mud drift off his body and dissipate into nothing. He felt his  _ mind _ clear and dissipate into nothing.

Ren could’ve floated for minutes, or he could’ve floated for hours- he couldn’t tell. He kept his eyes closed, feeling the sun shine warmly across his face. And he thought- ‘ _ this is peace’ _ . And he thought of calm emotions- the first bloom of spring, the last leaf of autumn, the first snow of winter, and the last night of summer. And it was peace.

He opened his eyes and looked at the branches of a mangrove he had found himself floating under. Smiling to the tree, he felt the icy cold of the water soothe his tense muscles.

“This is peace.” He laughed once more.

_ ‘This is calm’ _

Ren jumped up, standing up in the pool. He stared at the tree, awestruck.

“This is relief…?” 

_ ‘This is life.’ _

He smiled, slowly reaching a hand out. Breathing in ever slower, he placed his hand against the tree. And he felt the tree breathe. It inhaled slowly, and he began to mirror it. He closed his eyes. They began to pulse, energies joining. He couldn’t just feel the tree; he  _ was  _ the tree.

**Ding!**

**Ding!**

Ren was disturbed, his aura turned singular. He felt anger replace calm as he pulled out his communicator- pulsing through his veins and clearing his sight.

**Xisuma: Hey Ren, you there?**

**Xisuma: Ren?**

**Grian: He is on, right?**

**Xisuma: Yeah, I can see his name.**

**Grian: Is his communicator off?**

**MumboJumbo: How are we meant to know that?**

**Xisuma: We can’t know. We just have to wait until he responds.**

**MumboJumbo: That could take forever**

**MumboJumbo: Meet me at my base X?**

Ren huffed in anger, struggling to type a response with his wet hands.

**Renthedog: Yo**

**Renthedog: o/**

**Grian: Ren! You’re here!**

**Xisuma: o/**

**MumboJumbo: How’ve you been?**

**Renthedog: Really good**

**Renthedog: Really good actually**

**Grian: Oh?**

**Xisuma: How so?**

**Renthedog: I’ve been speaking to the trees**

**MumboJumbo: You’ve been what?**

\--------

Mumbo stared at his communicator. He furrowed his eyebrows and reread Ren’s message. ‘ _ Talking to the trees? That’s a bit daft. _ ’ He thought to himself.

“Hey Mumbo!” He turned towards the voice, watching as Xisuma flew down from the sky, his elytra snapping shut with a click.

“Oh hey Xisuma! How are you?” The two friends embraced on greeting, Xisuma lingering for a few more seconds.

“Tired. I’m really tired.” He let out a weak chuckle.

Mumbo peered through the glass of Xisuma’s mask. Behind the purple visor, his eyes looked like they were bruised by the bags forming on his lids, and his blinking would’ve been comically slow if it weren’t for the state of him.

“Haven’t you been sleeping?” Mumbo asked, furrowing his eyebrows, “You  _ look  _ exhausted.”

Xisuma looked away, leaning against a wall.

“I’ve slept for about 2 hours this week. I’ve been scanning the world map over and over, but the only swamp I can see is the Halloween district, and we’ve already established he isn’t there.” He paused, sliding down the wall and sitting down, head in hands, “I really don’t know what to do and it’s kinda scary. I can’t think of anything else.”

Mumbo sat down beside him, “It’s okay Xisuma, we still have the outer areas of the map to look at. It’s not like Ren is losing his mind. We have time.”

“Yeah… I’m just worried, you can understand it. The whole server’s on edge.”

They sat in silence, watching a flock of birds fly over the storage system. Among the birds, they spotted a human figure wearing a red shirt. Looking at each other and suppressing laughter, they pretended not to notice as their friend landed atop the chests.

He leant over the top of the wall, and removed an egg from his pocket. Before he could throw it at the pair, however, Mumbo spoke again.

“Grian, we can see you.”

Grian jumped, falling from the chests and in front of Xisuma and Mumbo.

“Damn, I thought I was being sneaky!” He laughed, sticking his tongue out at Mumbo.

“About as sneaky as an elephant!” Xisuma smiled, poking Grian with his foot.

“Is Ren not here?” Grian asked, looking around.

“Why would he be? You do know where he is, right?” Mumbo furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.

“Well no… That’s the whole point, right? I thought you called us here because you found him!” Grian sat up.

“I called Xisuma, you invited yourself.” Mumbo laughed.

Grian dramatically draped his hand over his forehead.

“I can see I’m not wanted!” He cried, gasping in false woe and walking towards the energy beam of Mumbo’s base.

“Get back here you plonker!” Xisuma laughed.

Mumbo stood, offering a hand to Xisuma, who took it, and was helped up.

“Right X,” He smiled warmly, “Me and Grian will continue to look through the map.” 

“And me?” Xisuma frowned.

“You’ll sleep.”


	4. Sleep, and Lack Thereof

Mumbo cautiously stepped through the nether portal, suspiciously looking around before Grian popped through and pushed him forward.

“Why are you so on edge?” He asked, waving as Xisuma also came through the portal.

“A new place, I guess.”

“But this is Xisuma’s place!” Grian walked forward, “There’s not gonna be any tra-”

Grian walked onto a pressure plate, and was cut off by the motion of pistons- surrounding him in a small glass cage. He panickedly looked around, his eyes eventually meeting with Xisuma’s.

“Oh…” Xisuma laughed, “I set traps to prevent anyone unwanted getting into the map room. Easily fixed, nothing’s lethal.” He moved up to the glass and broke into the floor, fiddling around with some redstone and resetting the trap.

“Oldest trap in the book.” Mumbo raised an eyebrow at Grian.

“Welcome to the Core of the World!” Xisuma smirked.

“Is that what you call it?”

“Y-yeah… it’s a name I call it…”

Xisuma took the lead, bringing the two Architechs through various hallways, dodging traps around every corner. Despite his sluggish and exhausted manner, Xisuma managed to nimbly cross the tripwire-filled halls, finally guiding the other two to a huge vault door.

He yawned, leaning forward and taking his mask off for a few moments. A scanner at the door silently studied his eyes, and he quickly put the mask back on, sighing as an affirming beep echoed out.

Mumbo and Grian watched as the huge 10 by 10 piston door slowly opened- the latter sensitive to the loud shifting sound- covering his ears. And after it had finished, Mumbo stood in awe.

“How on Earth-”

“This place needs to stay protected.”

Through the vault door was a map. A huge map, spanning 100 blocks wide and high- at the very least. Just looking at it from a distance was beginning to hurt their eyes. Xisuma once again led them in, directing them to a small table and chairs. They sat down.

“I’ve covered all of the map up until the tape.” He hoarsely said, motioning to a strip of thick red tape positioned over a small part of the map, “There’s still god knows how much more. I’m sorry I couldn’t do it all.”

“It’s okay! We’ll take over whilst you sleep! We’ll find some swamps, and then we’ll go out to them!” Grian grinned.

“What if you don’t? Ren isn’t much help. We can talk to him but he can’t tell us his coordinates for some reason.”

“Xisuma, we’re going to find him. We promise.”

\--------

Ren sighed, flicking through his communicator. He came to the page of statistics. Usually, there would be a list of coordinates, direction, the biome he was in, and even the block his communicator was pointed at. But only, whilst he was in the swamp, all of the statistics were blurred. The letters and numbers were clearly there, it just looked… wrong.

It looked off.

Ren could tell that the numbers and letters were English. He should’ve been able to read them, but the language was foreign- blurred, like when he wasn’t wearing his glasses. If only he was able to read the coordinates, then the other Hermits could come and experience the joy of the swamp.

He waded out of the ice-cold waters and back onto the mud. By that point, Ren had learnt to get used to the eyes watching him from the plants. Each one of the flowers had grown an eye in the centre, and all of the trees seemed to each have a pair of arm-like branches. It was peculiar, and sometimes haunting, but also rather comforting to not be alone.

And even without the eyes of the foliage, Ren always felt that someone was watching him in the swamp. It wasn’t even necessarily a bad feeling. Like… like a hug from someone who wasn’t actually there- a spectral embrace to keep him warm.

Ren sat down upon his bed- the only thing he’d kept from the main Hermit island- and closed his eyes. He listened. He listened. He _listened_. And things… were… the same.

With his eyes closed, he could hear the same sounds as he always did. The leaves, wavering in the wind; the waves, lapping at the shore; the whispers of the trees.

And it was peace.

The sun hadn’t set in… hours. It had just been hanging in the centre of the sky. And it was warm. The same heat as it was on Cleo’s Tortuga Island- sweltering and unenjoyable amounts of desert-like warmth that left him feeling constantly dehydrated.

And so he had begun to drink more of the swamp water to stay hydrated. He had continued to swim in the swamp water to keep cool. He had been nervous to drink from it the first few times- drinking swamp water had never been a good idea; but once he tasted the sweet sugar of the ponds, he had no trouble continuing. 

With the sun not setting, there were plenty of things he could do. Rather, there were plenty of things he might’ve been able to do if he weren’t so tired. Ren had famously never been able to sleep during the day, and the constant late evening was messing with his sense of time. 

He returned to his communicator, opening the chat once more.

**Renthedog: What time is it?**

**MumboJumbo: What do you mean?**

**Renthedog: The sun’s not setting**

**Renthedog: I can’t sleep**

**MumboJumbo: Ren, it’s 1 in the morning. You need to sleep**

**Renthedog: I can’t- not when the sun’s still up**

**cubfan135: You’re in a swamp**

**cubfan135: mix red and brown mushrooms, and also crushed alliums with oak leaves**

**cubfan135: it’ll knock you right out**

**MumboJumbo: Is that safe?**

**MumboJumbo: How long are you out for?**

**cubfan135: about eight hours**

**cubfan135: I have insomnia, it helps.**

**Renthedog: ty**


	5. On the Topic of Blood

Ren smelt plants, and he tasted a sweet, sickly fungal-like aroma. He awoke with a start and fell from the side of his bed, vomiting the remains of Cub’s sleep-stew onto the mud. His eyelids stuck together with thickened tears, and before he knew it, he found himself in the pools of water. The void sobered his night eyes up, and he looked to his surroundings.

The warm breeze drifting through the swamp immediately calmed his nerves. The water once again saved him from feeling uncomfortable. He smiled, sitting on the shore. And it was peace.

He began to hum a song, watching the clear water ripple as he kicked his toes slowly. He then began to sing quietly- Hotel California, by the Eagles. Why the song came to his head- he didn’t know- but he suddenly gravely missed his guitar.

He trailed off, slowing to a stop. The graveness of the situation sunk in and he felt alone. 

He felt truly alone.

Looking around, he felt goosebumps crawl up his arms and neck, and tapped his fingers on the dirt. He lay back on the dirt and turned to an allium growing beside him.

An eye sprouted from the flower’s petal.

‘ _ Why so glum, Ren? _ ’ The flower spoke.

“I miss my friends.” He replied, like second nature.

‘ _ But we’re your friends, Ren! _ ’

“Yeah, but what about Doc? And Wels, and X?” Ren’s eye twitched, and his eyebrows furrowed.

‘ _ They’re fine! You can see that from the communicator, right? _ ’

“Well… yeah. But I miss  _ them _ .” He turned onto his side to look straight at the flower. The eye looked straight back at him, blinking. He felt disturbed.

‘ _ They don’t care about you. _ ’ The allium blinked again.

“What?”

‘ _ Wouldn’t they be here by now? _ ’ It moved closer, the stem bending.

“They’re trying their hardest.” Ren sat up, panicking. 

‘ _ They could try harder. It’s your life on the line. _ ’ He watched as the allium began to pull itself from the mud.

“Hey. Stop. That’s not cool.” Ren furrowed his eyebrows, backing away.

‘ _ You know I’m right. _ ’ He covered his eyes in pain, standing and raising his leg. He heard the flower screaming and he too joined in, slamming his foot down onto the ground. He continued to twist his ankle, pushing the weed into the ground.

When Ren finally opened his eyes again, he saw the muddy mess that used to be the allium. He retreated backwards, shocked and upset at his actions. Swearing, and falling back onto the mud, tears bit at his eyes and he began to panic. 

A thick red liquid began to seep from the Allium’s growth point. It bubbled and steamed, creating a puddle in the crater his foot made. As he watched, it overflowed and began to move towards Ren. He gingerly dipped a finger in the puddle, delicately lifting it to his tongue.

It tasted metallic.

It was blood.

Ren screamed.

\--------

“Xisuma! Xisuma!” Grian nudged his sleeping friend, looking to Mumbo and back again, “X!”

Xisuma sat up, yawning, and looking around.

“I’m up, I’m up.” He sniffed a couple of times, yawning once again.

“Do you wear your mask whilst sleeping?” Mumbo asked, sitting on the small coffee table.

“Well when people are around, of course.” `He shrugged, sitting up on the sofa, “Anyway, why did you fellas wake me up?”

Grian grinned, looking from Xisuma to Mumbo in a sporadic joy. He bit his lip and spoke before Mumbo could take the honour.

“We’ve scanned the whole map- all of it. And-”

“There’s four swamps beside the Halloween district.” Mumbo interrupted, barely able to contain his excitement behind his accent. Xisuma stood in awe, his smile growing.

“Blimey, that’s less than I expected- that’s doable!” His voice perked up as his fingers twitched with nervous happiness, “We need at least two people to explore each one. We’ll find Ren in no time.”

By the time he finished the sentence, Grian had already taken out his communicator and was hurriedly messaging the chat. The atmosphere of the room lightened as they all looked at each other in complete anticipation.

\----

Seven people stood in the map room, awaiting orders. They had all gravitated into pairs naturally- Biffa and Xisuma; Tango and Impulse; and Grian and Mumbo. Doc stood by himself, however, awkwardly fiddling with the mechanics in his arm. Xisuma took a step forward and addressed the room.

“Thank you for all coming here at such short notice, I really appreciate it. Everyone knows the plan?” He asked, rubbing his hands together.

“Yeah.”

“Yep.”

“Uh-huh.”

“Actually,” Tango grinned, “Maybe you could explain it to us five or six more times?”

“Maybe if we keep getting him to explain it it’ll make sense.” Impulse nudged his friend, a smug smile on his face.

Xisuma let out a laugh, his fingers still nervously twitching. He turned to Doc, who by this point had turned away and was rooting through his shulker boxes. Whilst the others began to idly chat, Xisuma made his way over and put his hand on Doc’s shoulder.

“Hey.” He smiled, “Are you sure you’re okay with going by yourself?”

Doc subtly shrugged Xisuma’s hand from his shoulder, turning around and sitting on his black shulker box.

“Yeah, yeah, that’ll be fine.” He replied, his eyes flicking around.

“Doc, I know you want to stay strong, but if you can’t do it, we can wait until BDubs gets here. He’ll be fine to go with you.” Xisuma shrugged, “You don’t have to pretend to be okay if you aren’t.”

“Look, I appreciate this, X. But I’m fine, really. I’d go to the ends of the earth by myself if it meant we find Ren.”

Xisuma smiled, putting his hand on Doc’s shoulder once more.

“You’re a good man, Doc.”

“I’m just doing what Ren would do for us.”


	6. The Chapter When Things Get Bad

Grian and Mumbo flew side by side, the latter holding his communicator out and directing the pair. He reared up, hovering in the air for a few moments while reading the chat. Shaking his head, he pocketed the communicator and took a sharp right turn. Grian, being a skilled flyer, followed with ease. They had been travelling for about three days.

“Are we almost there?” Grian shouted, barely managing to get his voice over the wind rushing in their ears.

“Just about!” Mumbo hollered in reply, “Should be just past this mountain biome!”

Nodding, Grian landed atop the highest mountain, perching on a rock. Mumbo took a rough landing, cursing under his breath as he wiped the dirt from his trouser legs.

He opened his mouth to say something, but paused when he laid eyes on the landscape. Lying in front of the two Architechs was a large expanse of different biomes, ranging from a mesa to the swamp they were looking for. But what struck awe into their hearts was the large ethereal wall rising from the horizon.

“Is that…?” Grian muttered, his eyes wide.

“The world border? Yeah.” Mumbo replied, clutching onto his friend’s red jumper as he removed a stone from his shoe. They lingered in silence for a few long seconds.

“But… I... I didn’t think it was so close.” Grian whispered.

“It’s scary, isn’t it?” The taller architech croaked, quickly taking a swig of water.

“Bloody terrifying. Hasn’t stopped us before though, right?” Grian looked to his friend in fear, “Right?”

“No. Come on Grian, we need to see if Ren’s here.”

They jumped off the peak, flying towards the swamp. The world border pulsed with every beat of Mumbo’s heart, and the sense of dread he felt struck a wave of heat over his body. Although he wouldn’t admit it, he felt too scared to sleep, and hadn’t been doing so properly for about a week.

Grian wasn’t much different. He didn’t want to worry about Ren, and persistently kept himself busy with useless tasks deep into the night. He had only stopped to sleep when he’d stumbled into Area 77 and passed out in front of Doc. It was embarrassing, and the lecture Doc had given him was demeaning- but having an ‘evil doctor’ (as BDubs so affectionately called him) enforcing a healthy sleep pattern did have its upsides.

Both unwilling to admit to each other their problems and worries, they continued forward uninhibited. Switching to sliding down the mountain, they began to perk up as they playfully kicked snow at one another. 

The swamp itself was nothing out of the ordinary- muddy ground, muddy water. Mumbo grimaced as he walked through the biome, watching the mud cake his pristinely polished shoes.

“Can we get this over and done with? My suit just got dry cleaned…” Mumbo asked, nervously laughing.

“REN! REN!” Grian began to call out, flying up to perch on a tree. He scanned the landscape in silence and shook his head in affirmation, “I can’t see him.”

“If you go and take a perimeter, I can set up the tracker.” Mumbo curtly nodded, crouching down.

Grian burst up from the tree, shooting up into the air and floating around the swamp. He rubbed his eyes and continued to peer around. The world border grew closer, and he watched it pulse- like it was breathing. It was… disturbing. He had never paid that much attention to the border- even when the server updated. 

Whilst he continued to scan the perimeter, Mumbo began to wire his communicator into a compass. He furrowed his eyebrows as he worked, taking a gamble with a machine he’d never tested before.

The tracker was something he’d seen Xisuma use back when Evil Xisuma was wreaking havoc on the server. It was a device that, as said by the name, scanned the surroundings and tracked people. A mix of reading heat signatures, redstone, and measuring the intermolecular magic pull between everyone; the machine worked perfectly in the identifying (and subsequently) banning of the Evil counterpart.

“Come on come on come- oh dear…” He muttered, watching as a small poof of smoke rose from the compass.

With a few tweaks, however, the tracker spluttered to life.

“Ah-hah!” He smiled.

A pulsing noise echoed from the tracker, repeating every four or so seconds. The screen of his communicator showed a map of the area, with two brightly coloured blips representing the living beings around.

Grian landed beside his friend, peering over his shoulder.

“Ooooo! What’s that?” He excitedly asked, brushing dust from his shoulders.

“The tracker. It’s not looking hopeful though.” Mumbo shrugged.

“So… Ren’s not here?”

“According to the tracker, no.” He paused, “At least not alive.”

The pair looked at each other.

“Hopefully the others will have better luck. I don’t want to pull Ren’s body from a bog.”

\--------

“Green Tea?” Xisuma asked, deadpanning.

“Well, yeah! It’s a bit funky, but it’s healthy!” Biffa replied.

As they flew over countless biomes, the two persisted with their conversation through their headsets.

“A bit funky?” Xisuma laughed, “Green Tea is rank!”

“You can’t say anything- drinking that gross Kombucha!”

“Hey, it’s good for my gut.” 

“It’s… it’s… Vinegar Beer Tea!” Biffa jokingly nudged his friend.

They had been flying for just over three and a half days, and had already got confirmation from Grian and Mumbo that Ren wasn’t in the swamp they explored. It hadn’t done anything to settle Xisuma’s nerves, but making general small talk with Biffa had managed to take his mind off things,

It wasn’t a secret Biffa’s feelings had been confused. He frequently sent worried messages across the communicator only to dismiss them after. Seeing him in person sent Xisuma’s mind for a loop- Biffa seemed to be carefree and unworried; a complete contrast to the conversations they’d had previously. Putting on a brave face seemed to be the overarching mood of the server, however, so as hard as it was- Xisuma tried to ignore it.

“Ground control to Major Biffa!” Xisuma cried out, “Swamp inbound!”

They breached a desert temple, flying low and straight into a swamp. It looked particularly ominous- abandoned witch huts and ruins rising from the low-lying ponds. Giving each other a curt nod, they landed in the swampy bog. It was small- only eight or nine chunks, but the fog was so thick that they could barely see five feet in front of them.

“I haven’t seen fog this thick in years.” Biffa muttered, waving his arms about in an attempt to clear it.

“Hang on a minute…” Xisuma replied, lifting his hand to his mask. Two headlights spluttered to life, casting a dim glow through the fog. Biffa nodded in recognition, doing the same.

Wading through the dirt like two astronauts on a foreign planet, they began to scan the ground.

“Ren?” Xisuma called out, his breath turning to mist in the cool air. The sounds had a certain crispness to them- like the fog itself was soundproofed.

“X, I don’t really like this.” Biffa whispered, “I feel like something really bad is gonna happen.”

“We shouldn’t be long.” Xisuma replied, “But… I get you. I feel queasy.”

A crow cawed in the distance, making the pair jump. They looked to each other and let out a small nervous laugh, but it was not from the humour of the situation. If they didn’t laugh, they would cry. They began to reach the final few chunks.

“X, what’s that?” Biffa’s voice changed. The tiny sliver of optimism he had been hanging on to had… gone.

That sentence hit Xisuma. The dread grew, and he wanted to throw up.

He looked at where Biffa was pointing- a small boggy pond with a sliver of… ivory. Xisuma took a step closer, peering into the bog. He began to remove his mask, but quickly replaced it when the smell hit him. It was the stench of death, and neither of them had noticed as they were both wearing their masks.

“Thank god for ventilators.” He muttered.

He peered closer, and… saw it.

There was a half-rotted hand lying in the bog.

“Ren?” Xisuma quietly asked. 

There was a groan in response, and the hand began to move.

Biffa immediately drew a sword; and grabbed Xisuma by the arm, pulling him up. His friend seemed shellshocked, and so he stood in front with the sword pointed outwards. By this point, Xisuma was crying out, refusing to look at the body emerging from the peat.

“Stay back!” Biffa shouted, his voice coming out more scared than forceful.

Rather than seeing the half-dead body of their friend (like they were expecting), a simple zombie emerged. Biffa’s terror immediately subsided, but Xisuma continued to cower on the floor. Biffa felt anger fill his veins, and he took one swing at the zombie. It fell to the ground, sliced in half.

He panted, turning around to his friend.

Xisuma was sitting on the muddy floor, his hands clamped to the sides of his mask. Through the eyeglass, Biffa could clearly see tears streaming down his cheeks. He would not blink, and he would not move.

His eyebrows furrowed, Biffa opened his communicator.

**Biffa2001: Is everyone finished?**

**Grian: Me and Mumbo are**

**ImpulseSV: not yet**

**Docm77: Nope**

**Biffa2001: Grian**

**Biffa2001: Mumbo**

**Biffa2001: I need you to come here. X isn’t well.**

**Mumbo: is Ren there?**

**Mumbo: what happened?**

**Biffa2001: Just a little scare**

“Biffa.” Xisuma whispered.

“X?” 

“Don’t leave me.”


	7. The Chapter When Things Get Even Worse

The silence was near unbearable as Doc flew closer to the coordinates of the swamp he was tasked with exploring. His head was swarming with storms of emotion, and the rushing of wind in his ears was beginning to nag at his mind.

Doc never completely understood or faced his feelings, resulting in plenty of angry misunderstandings of his emotions. Usually Ren would be the one to help him identify the cause and effect in exact detail, but Doc’s mind had been overly cloudy for weeks at that point. It was frustrating, which just led to further anger.

With the news that Grian and Mumbo had found nothing, and that Xisuma had been traumatised by some zombie, the cause was looking worse. It was up to Impulse, Tango, and himself to try and find Ren. Doc huffed, keeping directly on track using his biomechanical eye to calculate the most efficient flying route. Safe to assume he wasn’t too happy with the idea of travelling for days straight, but it was more than necessary.

He paused, lingering in the air for a few moments. His eye flashed a few times, warning him he was nearing the destination. And he blinked. For a split second, he could hear his breath, and it all stopped.

The noise in his head, and the noise outside his head were cracking like thunder- like his mind was breaking and he didn’t know what was wrong with him. He could’ve sworn he could tangibly feel the noises bouncing around his skull, compressing his brain and sending bursts of pain through every nerve in his body. Doc began to see static rush through his mechanical eye, and his muscles seized up. Closing his eyes, he curled his legs into his chest and clamped his hands over his ears.

He knew his communicator was in his hand, and he knew he was screaming. He knew he could only see red, and he knew he hurt, but he couldn’t comprehend anything that was going on.

He was falling.

And everything was too loud to stop it.

Doc fell to the ground as he lost consciousness.

\--------

“He can’t.”

“Why not? It’s a lot of fun.”

“I don’t deny that. I just don’t think Zed can milk it any more.”

“It’s still got a season or two left I reckon.”

“Honestly though, how much can he get out of a sheep looking at people?”

“You have no faith, Impulse!”

Impulse and Tango had decided to walk to their assigned swamp. It was the one closest to spawn, and so they’d spent most of their time in boats, or on horses. They could see the swamp by that point, and it was nothing extraordinary. A few mobs roamed around underneath the trees, but none of them seemed to be hostile.

“Let’s bet.” Tango raised an eyebrow, “...10 diamonds! I don’t think Ren’s here.”

“Sounds like fun!” Impulse replied, a snarky grin on his face, “I bet 10 diamonds he is.”

It was in their nature to make light of a bad situation, but in that case- they didn’t even see it  _ as  _ a bad situation. Ren was safe, so they needn’t worry. The moment he was in danger was the moment the anxiety would set in. 

Naturally, the other Hermits were a bit… uncertain about their attitude. It had created a rift, of sorts, between the Hermits. Those who were worried sick, and those who were maintaining composure. It wasn’t anything malicious between them- just… a disagreement. The composed Hermits were in the minority- Cub, Scar, BDubs, Zedaph, Cleo, and Wels to name most- but they tried to lighten the mood to little avail.

No matter how dark, there must always be a light.

“Do you reckon Xisuma is okay?” Impulse asked, cautiously jumping over a muddy puddle.

Now that’s something they were worrying about.

“Well,” Tango opened his communicator, “Biffa said he hadn’t spoken since the swamp, or even blinked. He had to practically tear X’s helmet off.”

“Oh.”

“He’ll be okay, Impulse.” Tango put his hand on his friend’s shoulder, “He always is.”

“Yeah.”

“On another note, there’s nothing here.” Tango began to chuckle, “It looks like Mr Moneybags owes me some di-”

The communicator’s voice chat burst to life. A voice; crackled and panicked, screamed something unintelligible through to the other side. Jumping into ‘serious mode’, Tango opened it and replied.

“Repeat that last one, over.”

“ _ This isn’t a swamp. _ ”

It was Doc.

“Pardon? Over.”

“ _ This isn’t a fucking swamp. What the fuck what the fuck what the FUCK! _ ” Doc’s voice cut out as he screamed.

“Doc, calm down, please. What’s going on?”

“ _ There’s so much of it… It’s everywhere… I’m gonna throw up. _ ”

“Doc, I-”

“ _ SHIT _ .” The sounds of gagging echoed out, “ _ THIS ISN’T A SWAMP. THERE’S SO MUCH OF IT, IT’S ALL OVER ME AND I CAN’T GET IT OFF! I- I… I CAN’T BREATHE- THERE’S SO MUCH- _ ”

“There’s so much what?” Tango shouted.

“ _ BLOOD _ .”

The communicator shut off.


	8. The ConCorp Boardroom

The atmosphere in the room was grossly uncomfortable.

Xisuma, Biffa, Tango, Mumbo, and the ConVex boys sat in the ConCorp boardroom in silence.

Xisuma sat on the floor, leaning against the arm of a sofa. His helmet was lying a few feet away, discarded. Slowly rocking back and forward, his hands clamped over his ears, he muttered incoherently. Biffa sat on the sofa above him, not taking his eyes from his friend. His face was painted with concern.

Cub and Scar sat at the boardroom table, playing Blackjack whilst quietly muttering to each other. Tango lingered behind, feeding seeds to the parrots and messaging Impulse.

Mumbo frowned.

“Is this it then? We’re gonna pretend everything’s fine?”

“We aren’t pretending.” Tango muttered.

“Really, because playing Poker seems quick dismissive to-”

“Blackjack.” Scar hissed. His fingers drummed on the table; a ticking time bomb.

Mumbo walked over to Scar’s seat, and looked him directly in the eye.

“I’m sorry?” He asked, his voice unwavering. Scar stood, standing inches away from him, and met his gaze with a stern expression.

“We’re playing Blackjack, Mumbo.”

Mumbo’s face snapped. His eyebrows furrowed, and his pupils thinned. He pushed Scar away, leaving him to fall backwards over his chair.

“I don’t care!” He hollered, unnaturally angry, “There are more important things than what fucking card game you’re playing! Doc could be hurt, or worse!”

Scar reached his hand to his head. There was blood.

“Don’t say that.” All in the room turned to Xisuma.

“What?” Mumbo regained his senses somewhat, his eyes glazing over in regret.

“Don’t you dare say that.” Xisuma stood, tears streaming down his face, “I’ve lost Ren and I’m not losing Doc.”

“We can’t ignore it.” Mumbo whispered, treading the line with care.

“SHUT UP! SHUT UP!” Xisuma kicked his mask aside, limping forward into the centre of the room. He opened his mouth to say something more, but Biffa rushed up beside him.

Biffa threw his arm around Xisuma, whispering a few short words in his ear before turning away. Those in the room watched as he guided his friend away, picking up the mask on the way. They paused by the water elevator.

“Come on Mumbo. I think you’ve said enough.” Biffa said, before leaving.

Mumbo’s face flushed red. He pulled his suit jacket closer around himself, buttoning it up and turning away. His leg was clearly shaking, but he was trying to maintain composure, and he left the room in silence.

Only Tango, Cub, and Scar remained.

Scar stood, blood dripping down his face. He moved over to the bookshelf walls, peering into a mirror.

“Do you still have the recording of Doc’s message?” He asked, reaching his hand up and feeling his sticky blood clumping the hair together.

“Oh, yeah. Here.” Tango muttered, haphazardly throwing his communicator onto the table in front of Cub.

Cub clicked play; Doc’s voice spluttering through the small speaker.

**_“Repeat that last one, over.”_ **

**_“This isn’t a swamp.”_ **

**_“Pardon? Over.”_ **

**_“This isn’t a fucking swamp. What the fuck what the fuck what the FUCK!”_ **

**_“Doc, calm down, please. What’s going on?”_ **

**_“There’s so much of it… It’s everywhere… I’m gonna throw up.”_ **

**_“Doc, I-”_ **

**_“SHIT. THIS ISN’T A SWAMP. THERE’S SO MUCH OF IT, IT’S ALL OVER ME AND I CAN’T GET IT OFF! I- I… I CAN’T BREATHE- THERE’S SO MUCH-”_ **

**_“There’s so much what?”_ **

**_“BLOOD.”_ **

“Did you hear that, Tango?” Cub asked.

“No, when?”

“Just after Doc’s first sentence.”

Cub replayed the message.

**_“Repeat that last one, over.”_ **

**_“This isn’t a swamp.”_ **

_ ‘What...seen… is unseen…’ _

The corner of Cub’s mouth curled up, but not in a smile. It was some sort of pained grimace; a mix between a familiar smirk and trauma.

“There.” His voice was hoarse.

Tango’s eyes furrowed. He looked to Scar, only to find him meticulously cleaning his wound.

“What? What’s there?” He nervously began to pick at his cuticles.

Cub had already moved from the table, and was perusing the bookshelf.

“Cub?” The silence began to bite. He climbed up a ladder, removing a book and quickly replacing it. “...Cub?” He continued to look across the shelves, before finally pulling out a thick leather tome.

Cub slid down the ladder, lying the book down on the table. It was thick, bound in soft, pale leather; and wrapped in tight metal chains. Tango looked on in confusion and horror as Cub reached under his shirt and removed a key from around his neck. Using it to open the book, he looked to Tango.

“Blood Magic.”

“What?” Tango asked. Cub opened the book, flicking through the pages- all written in red ink; Scar’s handwriting.

“The voice says ‘What is seen is unseen’.” His face was deadly serious, “That’s an incantation for blood magic. A simple spell, but quite powerful- lets the caster remove memories at will.”

Tango furrowed his eyebrows. He could feel his heart beating in his chest, and could almost hear the sound of it. There was something wrong. Scar was silent; unnaturally angry. Cub seemed on edge.

“Remove memories? Cub, how do you know this? This is potent magic- this is dangerous.”

“Tango, tell me how we attain magic.”


	9. Forceful Displacement of Important Things

Scar watched the situation unfold, eyeing up Cub to assure he didn’t say… too much. Every time they talked about Blood Magic, his nerves shot through the roof. It was a sensitive topic and they both knew it. But Tango didn’t.

“We attain magic through contracts. Contracts with demons, angels, or ancient beings- Deities if you want to generalise. We give the contractors something, and they give us magic.” Tango began to explain, despite the fact they all knew, “For example… Xisuma gives his contractor unrestricted access to the End, and his contractor gives him void magic. You and Scar give the Vex wealth, power-”

“And cake,” Cub smiled.

“And cake, in return for Vex magic.”

“Good!” Cub stood up, patrolling back and forward in the room, “What do you know about the contractors?”

“Ancient beings have no real alignment and can be dangerous to work with. Angels are always on your side and are considered the best to work with. And you should never, under any circumstances, make a contract 

with a demon.”

Cub’s smile faded. He laughed, but it wasn’t a happy laugh. It was short, breathy, and painful. The sound of it made Tango’s mood fall. He hated hearing Cub sad.

“Cubby, what happened?” He whispered.

“We made a deal with a demon.”

“Cub.” Scar interjected. Tango felt his heart rate rising.

“Sorry, Scar. Carry on.”

“Thanks.” Scar sat down, his wound finally cleaned, “I’m guessing that Ren is being physically and mentally manipulated by a demon. Voluntarily or not, he’s made a bad decision, and now Doc’s been roped into it. Doc could get hurt. We need to find Ren, and we need to fix this.”

“Are you sure it’s that bad?” Tango asked.

“Tango, please.  _ Please _ . I have too many scars for my mistakes to be repeated.”

Tango fell silent. He put his hand on Scar’s, unsure of what to say.

“When Xisuma’s feeling better we’ll look into this more, yeah?” He hoarsely said, “We can help them.”

“Yeah.”

“Cub, I could do some more research if you let me borrow that book-”

“No!” Cub suddenly raised his voice, protectively picking it up and slamming it shut. Flustered, he quickly chained the book back up, “I’m sorry, Tango. If this book gets anywhere remotely close to a demon, Hermits will end up hurt, or worse.”

“But I’ll be careful!”

“We’ve already lost a page, and that’s screwed us over more than you can imagine.”

\--------

Doc felt the sun shining unbearably hot against his face. The rays heated up his metal plates, burning the skin around his face with searing pain. Before he had the time to open his eyes, the image of the sun burst into his biomechanical eye, sending shocks of excruciating pain through his head. And just like before, everything around him became too much to bear. It hurt. It hurt. It hurt.

Doc couldn’t handle it.

He was going to die. 

He felt like he was going to die.

He could feel hands on him, hands touching him. And it hurt. He could feel mud clinging to him. And it hurt. He couldn’t handle it. He was going to die. He felt water surrounding his body, and…

It all slipped away.

The water was freezing. It was absolutely freezing to the touch- like dry ice. And as he felt his whole body being submerged, everything stopped. The noises weren’t as loud, the sun wasn’t so bright, and wasn’t so warm. And he was okay.

Doc opened his eyes.

And he saw Ren.

Ren was standing above him, keeping him afloat in the water. The hands touching him weren’t malicious. It was Ren, keeping him safe. It was Ren- _safe_ _and happy_.

“REN!” Doc sat up suddenly, his enthusiasm showing as he accidentally smacked foreheads with his friend. They both reeled, laughing in the ice cold water.

And Doc suddenly leaped towards Ren, tripping him over and hugging him. They lingered, continuing to laugh and revel in the joy of the situation.

But Doc pulled away, quickly reeling from intense pain shooting through his biomechanical arm. He let out a groan, clenching his teeth and trying to ignore the pain.

“Doc, are you alright?” Ren asked, concern crossing his face.

“My arm… in the water… It- FUCK!” He screamed.

Ren’s eyes widened in horror as he watched his friend crumple in pain. He furrowed his eyebrows and jumped into action, throwing Doc over his shoulder and wading back towards the land. He fumbled with his words as he lay his friend in the mud, panicking. Doc wasn’t doing much better, however. His metal fingers dug into the thick peat, sending more unbearable pain through his body. 

“What do I do, Doc? What do I do?” Ren panicked.

“Just- Just- AH! FUCK! Get- Get-” He paused, screaming in pain, “Get… it… off!”

Knowing what to do, Ren jumped up. He removed his sword from his scabbard and got to work. Feeling his heart thumping against his ribs, he wedged the blade in between the mechanical arm and Doc’s skin, and pulled. He dug his heels into the mud and wrenched the blade back and forward, leaving Doc to scream as he forcefully pulled the metal arm off. 

Doc groaned in relief as the wires were pulled away. He let out a breathy laugh and looked to his friend.

“Sorry about that, Ren. Hadn’t waterproofed my arm yet.”

“It’s fine Doc, it’s fine.” Ren sighed, wiping his forehead of sweat, “It’s good to see you again!”

Doc sat up, using his only arm to prop himself up, “Where are we?”

“Welcome to the swamp!”


	10. Interlude, The Vex

The air in the void was freezing. The flaming North deity had retreated further towards his own realm, his blaze struggling to combat the conflict.

The South deity’s electricity had shifted from blue to red, and it sat grasping tightly onto a corporeal sword.

“One was pushing your luck, Bloody One. And now you take TWO of them? You’re overstepping. You cannot morally force a contract onto unwilling beings! It’s despicable-”

“Hahahaha!” The Bloody One cackled, “You don’t have the right to talk to me, Vex. Morals don’t matter. All that matters is me.”

“I know your game, Bloody One. You’re angry that I took what was yours. You want to get back at me. You’re starting something you can’t finish.” The Vex stood, spurts of electricity jumping from its body.

“Oh I’ll finish it. Watch me.”


	11. Hey MTV, This is my Crib!

“The… swamp? How did I get here?” Doc asked, looking around. He absentmindedly ran his hands over his chin. One side of Ren’s mouth tilted upwards, the way it always did when he was excited.

“I was about to ask you the same question, bro. I go for a walk, and when I come back you’re lying in my bed?” Doc frowned as Ren spoke, “What do you remember last?”

It took a moment for the memories to come back, and as they did, his frown grew.

“I was flying over a forest and all of a sudden everything went weird… you know, the sounds were getting too loud, everything was getting too much- what do you call it again?” He uselessly waved his hand about, trying to recall.

“Sensory Overload.” Ren replied, offering a kind smile.

“Yeah, that. But it was worse this time. It hurt.” Doc tried to smile in return, but instead grimaced, “And I think I passed out, and then I woke up here.”

“You had another incident when you woke up, right? Just then?” He tried to dance around the subject.

“Yeah, it was worse again. Like… physical pain.”

Ren felt wildly uncomfortable. He watched Doc hunch over, closing his good arm over himself. It was like the memory itself was as painful as the experience, and that was hard to watch. He lifted Doc up onto the bed and looked straight into his eyes with surprising assertiveness.

“Doc man, you need to take it slower. All this rushing around and constant work. I can see it in your eyes. You haven’t been resting, have you?” The corner of his mouth was still pointing up, warming the statement.

“Well-”

“Don’t lie to me. I can read you.”

“I’m sorry.” Doc hesitated.

“Don’t apologise to me, apologise to yourself.” Ren leant back into the mud, his hand sinking in, “You need to take care of yourself.”

“Well it’s not like I can do much work now my arm’s gone, huh?” He laughed.

Ren stood up, rubbing the dirt from his hands, and offering one to his friend.

“Come on Doc, I’ll give you a tour!” The light shone from behind his head, casting a halo around him. Doc looked on in awe, slowly taking his hand.

And quite clearly, the tour didn’t last long. Ren guided his friend around the explored areas of the swamp, and pointed him to further places that he had yet to dive into. And whilst they were walking around, Doc was getting increasingly concerned. Every new part of the biome seemed to look exactly the same, down to the position of the rocks. It was like a repetition of the same few chunks, over and over again, for as far as the eye could see.

“Ren,” Doc finally said, when they had returned to the bed, “This place is weird.”

“I know, right? I don’t know why it’s so brilliant!”

“No, it’s like… wrong.” He repeated himself. “Don’t you think so? All of the land is the same. This looks like one big chunk error. Have you ever seen a swamp this big, let alone any biome? I know it feels amazing- I really want to stay here! But… my heart is telling me to run.”

“To run?” Ren frowned.

Doc’s ears suddenly perked up, and his eyes widened. He began to pat around the pockets of his lab coat until he found his communicator. Since waking up in the swamp, he hadn’t even thought of the other Hermits- and that set a deep pit of regret in his stomach, curling around like butterflies. His eyes met with the sat sight of an argument.

**MumboJumbo: Scar I messed up.**

**Goodtimewithscar: oh i know**

**MumboJumbo: I’m sorry, I really am. We’re all on edge and I just went too far.**

**MumboJumbo: Scar?**

**MumboJumbo: scar please**

**[MumboJumbo was slain by Goodtimewithscar with** **_Bloodletter_ ** **]**

**Iskall85: O.O**

**joehillssays: You okay there?**

**ImpulseSV: whats up with that sword name?**

**Goodtimewithscar: We’re even**

Doc’s face scrunched up. What did Mumbo mean about messing up? What had happened? He sat down on the bed, blocking out his surroundings as he tried to make sense of it. He huffed, resolving to find out directly.

**Docm77: What are you guys doing?**

**ImpulseSV: Doc! Holy crap!**

**ImpulseSV: Are you okay?**

**Docm77: Am I okay? What’s up with Scar and Mumbo?**

**ImpulseSV: What about you? What were you going on about with the blood?**

“The Blood…?” Doc muttered to himself. He looked up for a moment. Ren had moved away and sat in the water.

**Docm77: What do you mean?**

**ImpulseSV: Where are you?**

**Docm77: The swamp, with Ren**

**ImpulseSV: He’s there?**

**joehillssays: Is he okay?**

**Docm77: Yeah.**

**Docm77: At least we know what swamp we’re in. You should come quick, this place is weird**

**joehillssays: How so?**

**Docm77: I want to stay.**

He looked back up, and stood. Bare feet sinking into the mud as he walked, he sat beside Ren. The sun was beating down hard, and his skin was tingling with the sensation of warmth. They both kicked their feet in the ice cold water. Ren sighed, leaning his head on his friend’s shoulder.

“Ren, I don’t want to leave.”

“Me neither. Me neither, Doc.”


	12. An Eye for an Eye

Mumbo was alone in his base, pottering about and trying to keep himself busy with menial tasks, and clearing out his Ender Chest. It was disturbingly quiet, the rushing of his storage system’s waterways the only calming noise he could think of. 

He was worrying. He was worrying and he didn’t want to admit it. It wasn’t often that Mumbo lost his temper, but for some reason there was something about the ConCorp Board Room that didn’t sit right with him. He had made a mistake, and he regretted it. Scar was hurt- he recalled seeing blood- and hurting people was the last thing he enjoyed.

He opened his communicator.

**MumboJumbo: Scar I messed up.**

Typing a simple message at first, he hoped to apologise as quickly as possible to remove the horrible feeling of guilt he had building in his stomach and head. Scar replied near instantly.

**Goodtimewithscar: oh i know**

**MumboJumbo: I’m sorry, I really am. We’re all on edge and I just went too far.**

**MumboJumbo: Scar?**

**MumboJumbo: scar please**

There was no response that time. Mumbo began to worry if he had done something wrong. Nervously hoping for a response, he read and reread all of his messages hoping to identify where he turned wrong.

There was a noise from behind. He turned around, looking up at the energy beam in the centre of his Mumball. And from there, his fear only grew as he began to suspect someone was in his base.

“Ren?” He instinctively asked before mentally slapping himself in the face. Ren wasn’t there, obviously.

Another noise, this time from behind him again. He turned and saw someone standing in the aisle of his base, holding a sword.

He saw  _ Scar _ , holding a sword.

“Scar, are you okay?”

Scar wasn’t okay.

The bags under his eyes were visible from 10 feet away, and his schleras glowed an intense and bright blue- identical to Vex eyes. Mumbo furrowed his eyebrows, seeing the small leathery wings floating just behind Scar. As well as the wings and the eyes; his posture was stiff, strong, and unlike him. Bright blue veins emanated that same glow in his throat, wrists, and neck.

The sword Scar was carrying was unlike anything Mumbo had ever seen before. It was a deep red, and seemed to pulse with some grotesque life. Scar took a few steps forward, unblinking.

“Scar?”

“An Eye for an Eye.” And it wasn’t Scar’s voice. It was the Vex, speaking directly through him.

Scar had already managed a few hits by the time Mumbo pulled out his sword. He tried to block as many as possible, but the movements his friend was taking were far smoother, far more unpredictable, and far more skilled than Scar was. It became apparent that the Vex was taking the driving seat.

The sword was drawn directly through Mumbo’s stomach, and he cried out in pain. The immaculate white shirt he was wearing quickly stained sickly red. With a determined smirk on his face, he pulled the sword out himself. Clearly surprised, Scar stumbled back. This left him open, and Mumbo lunged forward, sticking his sword into the shoulder of his foe. 

He tried his luck again, going for the legs. It was easily parried away this time however, and Mumbo felt his eyesight growing dark as blood poured from his stomach wound. His mind had tried to block out the pain, but the adrenaline was beginning to slip away, and the damage was becoming apparent.

Scar, with both hands on the hilt of his sword, skillfully ran the blade straight through the left side of Mumbo’s chest.

**[MumboJumbo was slain by Goodtimewithscar with** **_Bloodletter_ ** **]**

**Iskall85: O.O**

**joehillssays: You okay there?**

**ImpulseSV: whats up with that sword name?**

His body ached when Mumbo respawned after a few painless seconds. He stood up, looking at Scar’s message in the communicator.

**Goodtimewithscar: We’re even**

He stood from his bed and ran (despite the pain) to the bubble columns. By the time he had traveled to the second floor of the Mumball, the aching had mostly left. 

Scar was still standing in the middle of the path, only looking a lot more confused and a lot less ‘Vex’. Mumbo cautiously approached.

“Scar?” He asked, getting a major sense of Deja vu from just two minutes prior.

“Mumbo?” Scar turned around- blood splattered across his face- and confirmed to Mumbo that he had returned to his body, “What happened?”

“You killed me?” He replied, “Jog your memory?”

“Oh my god.” Scar’s face fell, and he looked appalled in himself, “I am so sorry.”

“It’s okay, it wasn’t you.” Mumbo smiled softly.

“But you said I killed you?” 

“It clearly wasn’t you in your body.”

“Yeah.” Scar paused. He looked up at the sky.

“ _ Why _ was the Vex in your body?” Mumbo asked, looking to the side and back.

“Oh. Sometimes he gets angry and takes over Cub and I. The Vex is no angel, let’s just say that.” He laughed. The information was clearly like second nature to him- of no concern, “Are you okay now?”

“Yeah, just a bit shaken up.”

They both stood aimlessly. Mumbo once again looked at the sword Scar was still holding. His blood blended in with the deep crimson of the blade, and was still pulsing. Only, the pulsing was heavier, more violent, and he could hear the sound of…  _ breathing  _ coming from it.

“Scar, what is that sword? I really don’t like it.”

Scar looked down, meeting eyes with his sword.

And he screamed.

He threw the sword away and stumbled backwards, falling over. His expression was that of someone who had just witnessed a murder, and he clamped his hands over his head. Mumbo tried to interject, but Scar just kept screaming. He was crying, crying- more so than Mumbo had seen anyone do so.

After god knows how long, Mumbo heard Cub’s voice calling down from the skies.

“DO NOT TOUCH THAT SWORD, MUMBO!” He hollered, before coming to a land behind the two.

“Cub, what’s going on? I- I- he hasn’t stopped screaming!”

Cub, eyebrows furrowed, took close steps towards Scar and the sword. He placed an Ender Chest down and- maintaining the slow movement- picked up the blade and quickly threw it in the Chest, slamming the lid and mining it. And as a final act of diffusing the situation, he brought Scar into a big hug.

Mumbo, all the while, stood in confusion, watching the strange scenario unfold. Scar eventually stopped screaming, reduced to quiet, soft sobs.

“The Vex can make the wrong decisions, sometimes.” Cub hoarsely whispered.


	13. Eavesdropping, and Other Affiliated Ideas

It had been five days since Doc disappeared. Xisuma was still recovering, and forbade anyone from going to save Ren and Doc without him there. No one knew how long it would take for him to be in peak condition; but Biffa said he was healing fast.

Over the communicator, Ren and Doc had shown no plans of wanting to leave, and the whole server was like a ghost town. Most Hermits kept to their base, busying themselves with menial tasks-  _ distracting  _ themselves with menial tasks.

Joe was the only one who had made a point to visit everyone on the server. It seemed everyone was ill; bogged down with low emotions and thoughts; and Joe wanted to help as much as possible. It just seemed natural.

He hummed as he walked- Joe Pup in tow, and a cake in hands. ConCorp was still bustling, the villagers milling around after work hours. With a spark in his step and a smile on his face, he made his way into the winding tunnels beneath- using the wool farm as an entrance.

Joe made sure to carefully admire the walls of the corridors as he walked, finding mundane joy in the expert way Cub had designed the repeating wallpapers and grouves. Acacia was a block he had rarely seen used well, and ConCorp was one of the places where it succeeded.

Coming to the door leading to the Board Room, he suddenly stopped walking and silently commanded his dog to stop. There were voices, muffled through the door, coming from the room. Voices he didn’t expect to hear.

Xisuma.

Cub was speaking at that point, however,

“...and the sword was what Scar used to… activate the magic.”

“I see.” Xisuma hummed, his voice hoarse.

“I know it’s a lot to ask, but it needs to be destroyed. I’ve tried hiding it, but when the Vex possessed Scar, it dug the sword up, and… well we know how that ended up.”

“Is he okay?”

“He’s better than he was.” 

“Right,” There was silence, “Cub, have you tried burning it?”

“Floated to the top.”

“Thrown it into the void?”

“Reappeared the next morning.”

Joe could almost hear Xisuma’s eyebrows furrowing. He contemplated bursting in at that moment, but concluded that it was far too suspicious. He didn’t want them knowing he was eavesdropping.

“I… I’ll destroy it. Through commands. I don’t want things getting worse.”

“Yeah.” Joe heard a chair being pushed back, and footsteps walking towards him. His arms flared up with goosebumps and he heard the person stop right outside the doors he was hiding behind. Joe Pup stepped forward, and his ears flattened as they usually did before he started barking.

All Joe could do was sit in silence and hope the door didn’t open. He heard the door handle creak, and watched as it turned downwards. Considering whether or not to run, he silently panicked.

“Oh, Cub!” Xisuma suddenly spoke. The door handle returned to normal and footsteps turned away.

“Yeah, X?” Cub’s voice got quieter as he moved away from the door.

“I remember.” Xisuma’s voice broke, as if he was near crying, “What you and Scar did to me. To us.”

“What?” Cub whispered.

“Etho remembers too. I’ve been contacting him since he moved offworld.”

“Fuck.” Joe had never heard Cub swear, and his tone of voice was terrifying. It was… eldritch, Joe thought, “X, we’re sorry. We’re so so so-”

“Please don’t apologise. What’s done is done, yeah? You did bad, but you’ve learnt. We all mess up at some point.”

“But what we did was… awful. How did you know?”

“I’m an admin, I know things the others don’t.”

“I… Look… We-”

Joe frowned. With Cub lost for words, and Xisuma near tears, it was time to intervene. He backtracked a few steps and began to loudly walk down the corridor, whistling and singing. Taking a final preparatory breath, he burst through the door into the board room. Joe Pup bounded towards Xisuma and began to jump up.

“Howdy y’all! How’s it goin’?” He smiled, holding the cake in his hands very carefully.

“Joe!” Xisuma laughed, stroking the Pup, “Lovely to see you!”

And the atmosphere in the room lightened immediately, and the three began to talk- small talk that prepared them all for the deeper questions. Xisuma was the first to suggest it.

“Do you suppose we’re ready to go to the swamp? I know you’re all waiting for me, but I’m feeling better. I’m ready.”

“Not yet. The moment we step into the demon’s territory, it can take over our bodies and minds. You and I will be fine, but everyone who doesn’t have a magic contract won’t be.”

“Can we not kill it?” Xisuma asked.

“Well…” Cub retrieved the blood magic tome from the bookshelf, opening it to a point where remnants of a torn out page were, “I don’t know when this happened, but we’ve been missing the page on how to kill the demon.”

“What makes you two safe? It’s the contract, right?” Joe asked, watching Cub shut and lock the book.

“Yeah. Demons can’t touch people already claimed.” Cub shrugged.

“Can you make temporary contracts?” Joe casually pondered, subtly throwing a bit of cake down to Joe Pup.

Silence fell. Cub frowned, and suddenly stood, his eyes wide.

“Joe, you’re a genius!” He exclaimed, rushing over to the bookshelves.

“He is?” Xisuma laughed.

“When Scar and I were proving ourselves to the Vex, we had to wear some necklaces,” He quickly returned to the table with a small black chest and threw it open, “It showed the Vex’s claim on us- protected us.”

With a grin on his face, Cub lifted two embedded medallions from the chest.

They were bound with thin black leather strips, and a glinting piece of Vex magic hung in the centre. Joe grinned.

“So if we wear those necklaces, the demon will think we’re contracted with the Vex and won’t be able to touch us! Joe, you brilliant man!” Xisuma laughed, “Get the Hermits together, we’re going to save Doc and Ren!”


	14. Reflection Good and Bad

Ren and Doc had found alcohol. Just… sitting in the mud; a crate of alcohol. And for whatever reason, they had found this very entertaining. An hour or so later, all 9 bottles had gone.

And currently, they were dancing around in the mud, kicking water at each other and singing old German drinking songs that Doc had taught his friend. The sun still hung low in the sky, casting everlasting daylight across the swamp. They didn’t care, though. They were having the time of their lives.

“Ren! My friend!” Doc shouted, grabbing his friend’s hand and spinning him around, “I never want this to end!”

Ren laughed,

“I agree, I agree!” He fell backwards into a dip, his hand still firmly grabbing a hold of Doc’s good arm, “I never want to leave!”

Doc stumbled, closing his eyes and reaching his arm up to the sky. He rarely got drunk- his constitution was far too strong to even get tipsy- but there was something about the swamp alcohol that just decimated his sober nature. His mechanical arm had been completely destroyed by the water, and he forgot how freeing it was to be rid of it.

Doc opened his mouth to say something, when he felt a  _ hand  _ close around his ankle. He barely had time to scream before it tightened its grip, and the fingernails sunk into his achilles tendon. And he was screaming and falling, but before he could lose his footing, Ren was holding him up, keeping him safe.

He fell onto Ren, embracing him and staying. His eyes were locked open, and the… hand… was still closed around his ankle.

“There’s a hand around my leg.” He whispered into Ren’s ear.

“Doc-”

“It’s digging in.”

“Doc-”

“I can feel i-”

“DOC!” Ren raised his voice, his words slightly slurred, “There’s nothing there.”

And there wasn’t. Doc turned his head to the ground and saw nothing. There was no hand. He chalked it up to the drink and they got back to dancing.

After not too long, notifications began to buzz through their communicators. It was an endless stream of beeps and clicks that was ruining their time. The swamp was divine and they didn’t want it to be interrupted.

Reluctantly, Ren reached for his communicator and began to read through the chat.

**Xisuma: Hello?**

**IJevin: Hey**

**IJevin: Nice to see you back in the chat X**

**Biffa2001: Hey!**

**ZombieCleo: hey**

**Xisuma: Just a warning, a few of us are planning to go and save Ren and Doc tomorrow. Anyone wanna come?**

**joehillssays: I would like to**

**ZombieCleo: I want to, yeah**

**Xisuma: Cool**

**Xisuma: Cub, Cleo, Joe, and I? Anyone else?**

**Xisuma: We can probably bring one more**

**Xisuma: Biffa?**

**Biffa2001: I’m gonna stay**

**Biffa2001: Someone’s gotta take care of Scar :)**

**Tango: I’ll go!**

Ren’s eyebrows furrowed. He felt anger rushing through his veins and turned to look at Doc.

“They’re coming to take us away.” He said, his voice shaking from the fury.

“What?” Doc asked, his eyes wide.

“They want to take us away.”

Ren watched as Doc’s mechanical eye flicked in and out of focus. He took Ren’s communicator, his arm trembling in rage.

**Renthedog: no**

**Renthedog: we’re fine.**

**Tango: Ren?**

**Renthedog: Leave us alone.**

**Xisuma: Were coming to get you, and thats the end of that**

A deep growl began to rise from Doc’s throat. He took out his communicator, and taking a look at them both in his hands, threw them against a tree. They crumbled into a mess of mechanical components.

“They won’t take us away from our perfect world. I refuse.”

————

The shopping district was empty besides two people.

Zedaph climbed to the top of iTrade, resting two cans of lemonade in between him and Tango. They sat watching the sunset, enjoying the peace whilst it lasted.

“How’s it going in your world, Tango?” Zedaph asked, opening the can and shaking away the foam.

“Eh… it’s going.”

“That doesn’t sound very enthusiastic.”

Tango pouted, turning away and sighing. He opened his mouth in an attempt to say something but got stuck.

“You look ill buddy, are you okay?” Zedaph kept his voice quiet, mindful of his friend’s silence.

“It’s been a year.” He sighed.

Zedaph nodded in understanding. A year prior, to the day, Tango had lost his contract with an ancient fire elemental, and subsequently lost his magic. He hadn’t told anyone besides Zedaph.

“You haven’t gotten any further towards telling the other Hermits, right?”

“No, it feels embarrassing and kinda demeaning to admit it.”

“What about Impulse? You could tell him, right?”

“Yeah, he’d be easier than the rest of the Hermits, I guess. I can never catch him, though.” Tango drew his legs up to his chest, resting his chin on the knees.

“He has been really busy lately.”

“Wouldn’t it be great to get team ZIT back together? Impulse always seems to be working nowadays.”

“Yeah!” Zedaph smiled, “That’s really what I want at the moment.”

Tango frowned, taking a sip of the lemonade, his eyes glistened in the sun.

“Do you know what the worst part of it all is?” He furrowed his eyebrows, “The Hermits keep asking me to do lava and fire-related tasks for them. I don’t have the heart to tell them no, and I definitely don’t have the heart to tell them I’m constantly chugging fire resistance potions. It’s so…”

“So what?”

“It’s so frustratingly human.”

Zedaph hummed, turning back to the sun. It cast beautiful amber drops across the sky, setting the skyline alight.

“What’s wrong with that, though?” He smiled, “Most of the hermits are- and look at what we’ve done!”

Tango laughed, “Yeah.”

“The Ancient Being who gave you your magic wasn’t necessarily… nice, was he? Do you miss all the crap he made you do?”

“Not at all. I only miss the magic.” Tango quietly said.

Zedaph raised an eyebrow, putting his hand on Tango’s shoulder,

“You know what, Tango? Let’s be frustratingly human together.”

“Cheers to that.” They knocked their cans together.

Humming quietly, Tango pulled his communicator out. Closing his eyes and taking in the atmosphere- his friend’s song, the bird’s chirps, the rustling of the leaves- Zedaph felt calm. The little beeps coming from the communicator drew his attention, however, and he opened his eyes. Tango was typing.

“What’re you writing?” He asked,

“Just signing up for the Ren-and-Doc-recovery-mission-extravaganza.” He grinned, “Magic or not, I’m still helpful!”

The sun dipped below the horizon, and the shopping district was cast into darkness. Staying in silence, the friends eventually fell asleep to the sound of the dead rising.


	15. Interlude, The Flame

The Bloody One sat with a grin on his face, exposing hundreds of rotting, yellow teeth. He reveled in the cold, antagonising the three other deities.

“Why so Blue, Flame?” He hissed.

The Flame let out a puff of energy in response. It leant forward into the void, not tolerating the antics of The Bloody One.

“You need to reel it in. Be careful, Bloody One, or I’ll snuff you out myself.”

The Vex glanced to The Flame, concern crossing his eternal grimace. Tensions were rising.

“The humans are going to contact us soon, Flame. Hold your tongue.”

The Bloody One laughed once more,

“Oh, I plan on visiting them  _ a lot _ sooner, Vex.”


	16. That Which Smoked with Bloody Execution

The five hermits stood in the shopping district, on the patio of iTrade. Xisuma stood with his helmet on, adjusting commands from the admin panel. Cub lingered beside him, tapping his fingers on the hilt of his sword. His eyes nervously twitched around. Joe and Cleo quietly talked, the latter sorting Joe out with a set of god armour. Tango watched the scene in front of him, biting his tongue. His mind was racing at a hundred miles per hour, and the ambience didn’t help.

The screen in front of Xisuma’s helmet flicked off, and he quickly pulled it off. Life returned to his eyes and he stepped forward.

“Well well well! Today’s the day, huh?” His voice wavered, “I have some amulets that will protect us.”

His way of speaking was overly nervous, and it was clear he wasn’t completely sure what to do in this situation. He pulled two amulets from his pocket and approached Joe and Cleo.

“If you two could wear these please, you’ll be safe.” He smiled. They silently obliged.

Moving over to Tango, Xisuma’s face grew into a smile.

“Thankfully your contract and your magic protects you, so you don’t need one!” Tango opened his mouth to say something, but stopped himself; smiling instead.

Xisuma handed over to Cub, who confidently stepped forward.

“Motivational speech, let’s go!” He smiled, “To be serious, this isn’t going to be easy. Blood demons are some of the most dangerous creatures possible. If Ren and Doc are both under a demon’s control, they’re going to put up a fight. I just want to let you know that we can do this. We’ve got each other’s backs.”

“Could we not just kill the demon?” Cleo asked, raising her eyebrow.

“Don’t know how to. The page in the spellbook that told us how to kill it went missing years ago.” Cub frowned, sadness glistening in his eyes.

Tango smiled. He placed his hand on the portal frame,

“We’ve got this, Cubby.”

\--------

The journey had taken about half an hour, and it had been mostly in silence. The nether tunnels didn’t inspire confidence, and the group wavered at every wail of a ghast’s cry. Xisuma had once again paused, the admin screen wavering in front of his helmet. The co-ordinates flashes red on the holoscreen.

Still looking at the screen, he began to build a portal. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten. Four cobblestone blocks at each of the corners. The screen flicked away. Hands trembling, he pulled out a flint and steel. But he hesitated.

He took a deep breath.

The portal glowed toxic purple in the red mist of the nether. Without a word or action of hesitation, Xisuma jumped through- followed by the rest. Tango felt the familiar feeling of being torn apart and put back together, and when his vision cleared of the hellish magic, he wished it hadn’t.

Joe was hunched over on the floor, vomiting violently. Cleo stood behind him, rubbing his back. Her eyes were glazed over. Cub surveyed the surroundings, and Xisuma held tightly onto his hand. And Tango suddenly saw the reason why.

The surroundings were a scene straight out of a horror movie. Everything was made out of… meat. The floor, the trees, the plants, it was all made from thick bloody flesh. The ‘trees’ had stretched eyes all over them, and mouths that  _ moved _ . He spotted Ren and Doc.

They were calmly standing in the ‘water’- in the pools of blood- laughing.

They were drinking the blood.

Tango gagged, moving his hand to his mouth, and turned to Cub for guidance. The bearded man stepped forward, his hand clenched firmly onto Xisuma’s. The determination in his eyes was inspiring, and Tango found himself walking beside, blocking out the surroundings.

Pained moans echoed from the mouths on the trees. The group of Hermits felt thousands of eyes on them, and all semblance of privacy was stripped violently away. The air was wet with dew, but not water dew. Diffused, misted blood thickened the atmosphere.

“Ren, Doc.” Cub spoke, his breath casting bursts of air into the cold mist, “Hey.”

They didn’t hear. They continued to talk amongst themselves, drinking the ‘water’.  _ Drinking the blood _ .

“Hey.” He spoke again. 

They continued washing in the blood.

“HEY!” Cub shouted, his anger an uncommon feature.

Ren and Doc turned their heads, like deer in headlights- and at that moment, it was clear they weren’t themselves. Their eyes were wholly black, with dark veins crawling down their cheeks. Looking like they had been bathing in the blood for months, their skin and clothes were stained red. Doc had lost his right arm. Ren had lost his mind. 

“Come home.” Cub muttered, his voice lingering in the mist.

Doc stepped forward.

“We told you not to come.” His voice was venomous.

“Okay.” Cub shrugged, “We did anyway. Come home, Doc.”

“What if I don’t want to?”

“We’ll make you.” Cub’s head was pounding, but he maintained composure.

“You’ve crossed a li-”

Ren stepped forward. He placed a hand on Doc’s chest, holding him back. They locked eyes for a brief moment.

“There’s no need to fight.” His tone was broken, “Can’t you see? Can’t you see why we want to stay?”

“No.” Cub furrowed his eyebrows, “Doc, you must remember. You went off comms- sent us a message about blood. About  _ here _ .”

Doc grumbled under his breath, looking away.

“Speak up!” Cub shouted.

“No! You’re lying. I passed out and woke up here.” He shouted back. Ren once again put his hand on his friend, holding him back.

“Why can’t you see?” Ren frowned, “The swamp! It’s celestial! We can live here and be happy forever.” 

“Ren, you don’t understand.”

“No Cub,  _ you  _ don’t understand! You’re all blind! You can’t see!”

Cub stepped forward, letting go of Xisuma’s hand.

“Ren, you can’t stay here forever. Come home.” His voice cracked.

Ren rushed towards the bearded man, grabbing his hands and looking deep into his eyes. He was hunched over, crazed, insane; whilst Cub stood tall and dignified. Ren’s hands smearing blood over Cub’s sleeves and arms, turning the pristine white of his coat muddy.

“Cub, I can’t leave. I’m happy here. I lie in the water and I’m calm. I’m not stressed. I’m free. Please, please, please, don’t make me leave.” He begged.

There was silence for a few moments. In a swift movement, Cub forcefully grabbed Ren’s wrist and threw him to the floor behind him. In silent tangence, Tango pushed his boot against his back, keeping Ren pressed onto the fleshy ground.

“Get your hands off him!” Doc shouted, drawing a sword from his sheath. He jumped straight into battle with Cub- impeded by his lack of second arm.

Doc swung, and Cub blocked with his diamond bracers. They radiated with enchantment, throwing back thorns damage back to his foe. He backed away, drawing a crossbow in his second hand and sending an arrow through the chamber. It thunked into Doc’s shoulder spreading bright purple through his skin.

“Sedative arrows deployed!” Cub shouted, “T-Minus two mi-”

He was interrupted by Doc leaping at him once more, embedding the diamond sword into his arm. Cub yelled out in pain, stumbling backwards. Sensing danger, Xisuma regained his confidence and stepped in.

The masked fighter held two diamond swords against Doc’s one. He raised his foot in the air and planted it into Doc’s chest, pushing him backwards. Unable to hold balance anymore, he fell into the thick fleshy ground. The sedative began to work, and Doc quickly fell into unconsciousness.

They turned around. Cleo was lying on the floor, unconscious, and Tango stood idly, eyes glazed over. Ren stood further away, in a pool of blood. In the few quick moments that had taken to deal with Doc, Ren had escaped Tango’s grasp, knocked Cleo out, and was holding a sword to Joe’s throat.

Deaths like that were traumatising. If Joe were killed in such a way, he wouldn’t recover. As stoic as Joe was, no one could handle that.

“Ren, calm down!” Xisuma shouted, tending to Cub’s wound at the same time.

“You won’t take us away from here! I won’t let you!” He screamed. The blade split Joe’s skin.

“Ren, please.” Joe hoarsely whispered, his chest heaving with laboured breaths, “We don’t want any trouble, we’re here to help.”

Tears were streaming down his face, and he was visibly terrified. Xisuma stepped forward, only to rectify his mistake when Ren shouted out a warning,

“COME ANY CLOSER AND I’LL SLIT HIS THROAT!” Ren screamed. 

“Come on now,” Joe whimpered, “W-we can work this out, right? We’re all friends here, right? Ren, I’m only askin’ that you don’t do this. I- I… We- I’ll work this out with you, yeah? It’ll be fine, I promise.”

Ren growled. Unfazed by Joe’s begging, he swiftly drew the blade across Joe’s throat. The Tennesean fell to the floor, limp, and his body disappeared into a poof of smoke. Tango snapped back to reality, and with a mighty war cry, he threw a Trident straight at Ren. It stuck into his chest, and Ren’s body too disappeared into smoke.

The air was thick with the scent of iron.


	17. The Promises of the Brothers

Ren had respawned in the ‘swamp’. The Hermits had taken hours to return. Tango carried Doc, Xisuma- Ren, and Cub- Cleo. And when they returned, Grian nervously waited for them by the portal. He panickedly explained that Joe had respawned in the shopping district- dazed and silent; and that he had been messaging the rescue party with little return. They reassured him, and followed him back to Cub’s starter house.

Acting swiftly, the group set down three more beds beside where Joe lay catatonic- though one was unnecessary within an hour, as Cleo quickly woke up with no ill effects besides a headache. She was caught up, and after a few moments of silence, left for Tortuga.

Each Hermit filtered away- Grian to inform Mumbo and Iskall of the happenings; and Tango to meet up with Zedaph and Impulse. Joe sat on the bed, looking at the wall without any words. Cub took Xisuma aside.

“X, Joe’s not well.” He cast a glance back to the beds.

“I know. We’re down three Hermits and I don’t think it’s going to get any better. I’m at a loss.” Xisuma gesticulated wildly with his hands, “Joe would know what to do.”

Cub sighed,

“We can get him back.”

“Cub, no. I know what you’re implying, and we can’t.”

“You can’t. I felt terrible when I did it without purpose, but this does have a purpose!” 

“Cub! It’s wrong! You promised Scar you wouldn’t go back to it.” Xisuma ran his hand through his hair, refusing eye contact.

“He doesn’t have to know.” Cub muttered silently.

“I… Are you sure you want to?”

“Yes. It’s for the best, I promise.”

Xisuma nodded. He silently watched as Cub stood over Joe and took a small knife from his pocket. He began to chant an incantation in a language Xisuma could only barely understand.

“∴⍑ᔑℸ ̣ ╎ᓭ ᓭᒷᒷリ ╎ᓭ ⚍リᓭᒷᒷリ. ∴⍑ᔑℸ ̣ ╎ᓭ ᓭᒷᒷリ ╎ᓭ ⚍リᓭᒷᒷリ. What is seen is unseen!”

He drew the knife across the palm of his hand and let the blood drop onto Joe’s forehead. A flash of red temporarily blinded the pair; and when they opened their eyes once more, Joe sat on the bed holding his head- his eyes squinted in confusion.

“Howdy Cub, Xisuma!” He said, smiling, “...I- I seem to be unable to remember anythin’... Did… did we win?”

“What’s the last thing you remember?” Cub asked, hiding his bloody palm behind his back.

“Uh… You and Doc got into a fight? Just darkness from there…” Joe hummed, rubbing his chin.

“You passed out. Got overwhelmed by the surroundings, I think.” Cub smiled. Joe nodded slowly.

Leaving Joe to mull it over, Xisuma pulled Cub down the stairs and began to talk in hushed tones.

“Cub, I need you to promise me that’s the last time you’ll do it.” The bags underneath his eyes seemed accentuated in the dim light, “As good as erasing traumatic deaths can be… not every Hermit would agree with their memories being stolen.”

“Yeah…”

“And besides, Scar wouldn’t be happy if he found out you still used blood magic.”

\--------

Biffa reached down onto the volcanic rocks of Scar’s volcano, picking up the tray of cookies he left there a few hours prior. He slowly hummed a song as he walked across the wooden walkways and stone bridges. The human world was silent, the natural chirps of the birds and rustling of trees occupied the silence. And so he sang along with the birds, imitating their calls quietly.

Keeping the tray firmly in his hands, he launched into the air and let his elytra take flight. Taking in the air on a single cycle of the volcano, he landed in the small bay and made his way through into the cave. 

Scar was sitting on his bed, eyes glazed over. He chewed on his lip and also hummed under his breath, his mind running over the same song as Biffa’s. Hands clamped together in his lap, his posture was rigid and formal.

Biffa crouched down in front of him. Scar’s eyes met with Biffa’s- but they were still glassy.

“Hey pal. How are you holding up?” He asked, offering the cookie tray outwards.

“Uhm, I’m… I’m here?” Scar took a cookie.

“That’s more than enough.”

Silence fell as the pair began to eat the cookies. They tasted sweet, and warmed the atmosphere within the cave. Scar sighed.

“Can I… Can I talk to you? About  _ it  _ I mean.”

“Of course, I’ll listen to you all day if you need me too.” Biffa smiled, “I’m here for you.”

Taking in another deep breath, Scar began.

“Cub and I used to practise blood magic. We had a contract with a blood demon, and it sapped our livelihood away. I… I had a sword that the demon gave to me. Made from some sort of blood crystals, I don’t know. Safe to say that’s the weapon that gave me all my scars.” He winced, “Obviously it was unhealthy. I was very ill. Cub and I made a vow to both give it up. We tried to look through the spellbook- find the page that told us how to kill it, but… it was… gone. We eventually managed to break ourselves out of the demon’s contract by letting the Vex take control of our bodies. With his anger, he expelled the blood demon out of our lives.”

“That’s great!” Biffa smiled.

“Yeah!” Scar laughed, “But we still had the sword. And a year or so later, I… I…”

He squinted, and furrowed his eyebrows. It was clear that it was hard even speaking about it. Biffa wasn’t very experienced in magic, but from just looking at how shaken up Scar was, he got the hang of how horrific it could be.

“Take your time.” He whispered, putting his hand on Scar’s.

“I couldn’t handle it… and I… I… reverted back to old habits.” His voice was hoarse, “And it was worse. I almost… I almost bled myself dry. Cub took the sword from me and hid it. I didn’t even know where it was and yet somehow- somehow I…”

“You found it.”

“Yeah. In my anger I used it to kill Mumbo. And it just brought back everything. I thought Cub destroyed the sword. And I- I just…” Tears started pouring down his cheeks, “I- I’m sorry to dump all this on you.”

“Please don’t apologise, you’ve been through a lot. It’s hard.”

“How do I carry on if I can’t make progress? Every time I take a step forward, I take two back. I’m struggling keeping optimistic, and I don’t know what to do.”

Biffa frowned. He looked at Scar’s hand, stretched and contorted by hundreds of tiny scars. With a sigh and a frown, he spoke softly.

“You don’t have to be optimistic. It’s okay to not be okay. Look, I know we aren’t the closest of friends, but from what you’ve told me, you’ve been through hell and back. I wouldn’t be able to function as well as you do.” He laughed, “And Scar. You don’t have to be making progress. Just  _ being  _ is fine. We’re here for you now, and we’ll be here for you forever.”

“Forever?”

“Till the end of time.”


	18. Normal Arguments Between Normal Friends

The light rustling of leaves echoed through the shopping district. With the warm sunlight just peaking below the horizon, rays of light shon tangibly into the upstairs of Cub’s Starter House. Doc and Ren still lay in their beds, silent and unmoving- even a month later.

The server had settled down since the return from the swamp. Mumbo had stopped stressing, Scar had come out of hiding, and the ConCorp boat was sailing once again. And although Doc and Ren hadn’t awoken from their magical sleep, the knowledge that they were safe was good enough.

Grian sat on the glass railing. He looked up and smiled, reveling in the early summer sunlight. He had taken the day out of Sahara work to watch over the pair. It had been a mostly uneventful day consisting of one sided chat and uncomfortable silence. Even the awkward task of feeding the two mushroom stew felt boring. Though it was understandable for a man who’s daily routine consisted of pranks and high energy building.

He turned away from the view and looked back at his sleeping companions. It seemed normal (as normal as could be). He frowned, however, moving and looking closer. The area around Ren’s eyes was darkened in shadows, unnaturally so. Glaring even closer, it became apparent that the darkness wasn’t shadows. Dark, fat veins crawled their ways around Ren’s eyes, stretching down past his cheeks. They looked to be growing as well.

Grian turned his gaze to Doc. He too had the same veins on his face. Something about it didn’t seem right- the veins were pulsing. Once again, he looked closer. He hovered a few inches from Doc’s face, inspecting the facial markings.

Sure enough, they were pulsing. Alongside that, it seemed like Ren and Doc’s eyes were twitching. It seemed they were trying to open their eyes. At least, that’s what Grian hoped was going on.

With a pout, Grian stood back up and slipped his elytra on. He dug through the contents of one of his shulker boxes and found the firework rockets. The land was turning dark, and a new hermit would be arriving to watch over the comatose pair.

It was incredibly calming now that the server had returned to normal. Relief had spread rapidly throughout the Hermits, and subsequently happiness. It almost felt like a festival had begun, there were celebrations happening left, right, and centre! And it was peace.

Grian jumped, his pulse quickening as he saw a flash of light in the now pitch black sky. He cursed his attention span for scaring him as his eyes focused on the figure flying through the sky, pursued by a gaggle of phantoms. Watching Xisuma shoot up into the air and take down 3 of them in one shot, he felt a smile creep onto his face.

Xisuma landed, his helmet securely on. He panted from the effort, resting his sword on the floor and looking up.

“Hey X.” Grian raised an eyebrow.

“Hey Grian.” He breathed heavily, regaining his stamina, “Sorry I’m late. Got caught up.”

“With Phantoms?” Grian laughed.

“No, no, no. Bit of a scuffle with the Hermits.”

“Scuffle..? What do you mean by that?” His grin faltered.

“Uh… Tango and Zedaph visited Impulse whilst he was working and he wasn’t too happy.” Xisuma reached under his mask and wiped his eyes.

“Why not? Those three are inseparable, right?”

“Yeah, I’m not sure really. I think something got broken.”

“Huh, I hope they’re okay. I’m gonna head off now, see you later X.”

“See you later.” They embraced, and Grian shot off into the air, quickly disappearing into the night; as Xisuma was left to ponder the events of the day.

\--------

“Dude he’s gonna be terrified. It’ll be hilarious!” Zedaph grinned.

“This was a brilliant idea, Zed!” Tango laughed.

It was late afternoon, and the pair sat in Impulse’s iBay, waiting for his arrival. They crouched beside the stairs leading to his underground hall, where they could hear the distant coughs of his work. It had been a few hours, and they were still waiting.

Prepared to travel downstairs, they were beginning to get bored. Impulse had always busied himself with his work, but they had never known him to be so immersed for so long. He had been working continuously since Doc and Ren returned. Giving an excited look to each other, they heard the telltale sound of footsteps ascending the steps.

It was a few tense moments as they waited in suspense, and it was difficult to stop themselves from laughing. And as Impulse finally breached the corner, they enacted their plan and jumped out, scaring him, and making him throw a few potions to smash on the floor.

Zedaph and Tango began to laugh at the sound of Impulse’s scream, promising to fix the potions in between tears and wheezes. The third person in the room, however, was less than thrilled. He turned away, putting his hands to his head and staying silent.

“You okay, buddy?” Zedaph stepped forward, wiping tears from his eyes.

Impulse whipped around, reeling his hand back and punching Zedaph with all the force he could muster. The brit fell backwards onto the floor, clutching his face.

“AH! Impulse, what the hell?” He winced in pain, blood pouring out of his nose. It looked broken.

“Sorry! Fuck, sorry. I- fuck.” Impulse grimaced, “I didn’t think- Zed, I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay! It hurts, but it’s okay!” He groaned.

“What the crap was that?” Tango asked, putting his hand on Zedaph’s shoulder, “It’s just some potions.”

“Some potions I’ve spent all week making. Some potions that I didn’t write the formula down to.”

“Why are you putting so much effort into it?” 

“Because it’s the potions that were supposed to heal Ren and Doc, Tango! What is your problem?”

“My problem is it was an accident and you’re acting like a dick about it!” Tango clenched his fists.

“Accident? You guys jumped out at me! You need to check your attitude, it’s sickening!”

“Do you know what’s sickening?” Tango hissed, “The fact that you’ve been ignoring your friends for your work!”

“My work is saving my friends!” 

Tango huffed, turning away and walking towards the exit.

“Tango, don’t walk away from me! You’re being unreasonable.”

At that word, the horned man turned around and launched himself at Impulse. He pushed his friend into the wall, pressing his forearm against his neck. Impulse struggled, trying to pull Tango away, but to no avail. They struggled for a few moments, Tango clearly winning.

Impulse began to struggle for breath. His vision blurred, and he felt his consciousness leaving until-

**ImpulseSV suffocated whilst trying to escape Tango.**

Zedaph, holding his bleeding nose, looked up to his friend.

“Tango, stop.” He muttered.

A few moments later, the footsteps returned as Impulse sprinted up the stairs. He came rushing into the room holding a diamond sword. Tango didn’t have much time to react as the blade stuck into his side and sent him tumbling over.

“You want a fight, huh?” Impulse spat, lifting his sword high.

He went for another hit, his muscles tensing, when a figure flew into his side, knocking him into the wall. It was Xisuma. Impulse furrowed his eyebrows, straining against the admin’s grasp.

“Let me at him, X!” He shouted.

“What has gotten into you Impulse? Calm down!” 

Impulse melted in Xisuma’s arms, bringing him into a hug whilst he angrily cried. Tango and Zedaph stood in silence, unsure how to react.

“I was- I was so close.” Impulse whispered.

“Hey, it’s okay.” Xisuma replied, looking at the two others in the room. They shrugged.

"I need to go to bed." Impulse said.


	19. Are You Afraid of the Dark?

It was late- past midnight- but what exact time, Mumbo couldn’t tell. He had surpassed being tired, and silently worked on a new project. This certain project was a redstone contraption that he had always wanted to try. It was for a prank- He decided to deliver Sahara’s monthly profit reports in the form of a walking machine shaped like his head. It was childish and somewhat stupid, but he was having great fun doing it.

A small radio sat on the floor, blasting out music at questionable audio quality. Mumbo nodded his head along, the crackling songs echoing around the plains biome he worked in. Beside the radio were many discarded energy drinks and cans of coffee, loosely collected into a canvas bag.

He jumped from the top, trying to launch away with his elytra. They let out a dull thunk, and he fell to the ground instead, feeling the reverberations jar his legs.

“Ow ow ow! Broken already?” He muttered. Using his communicator to check, he furrowed his eyebrows. The elytra were nearly at full durability. No one was awake, and Mumbo knew that no one was AFKing. There was no reason they should’ve failed. He frowned, turning back to his contraption when he heard a voice.

_ “Mumbo~” _

He spun back around, fear building in his stomach.

The landscape around was dark. He could barely see 10 metres ahead of him. It was like staring into the void.

“H...Hello?” His eyes flicked around, trying to find something to focus on, “This isn’t funny.”

There was no response. He must’ve imagined it.

It took a moment for his nerves to return to normal, but once they did he returned to work. It wasn’t unheard of for his tired mind to play tricks on him, and considering the state of his sleep schedule- there was nothing he would find surprising.

Mumbo felt a shiver cut through his spine, and the hair was standing up on the back of his next. He was getting more annoyed than scared- the feeling of redstone coating his hands calming his nerves. It had always been a calming agent.

Late nights like those had always been ones to reflect. Hermitcraft was a world full of magnificent people, and Redstone made Mumbo feel like he truly belonged. Everybody had their thing, and everybody loved each other. He always knew he was very lucky, and he would never take his friends for granted.

There was a lot of bad in the world- he knew that for certain. And although he would never admit it, one of his biggest fears was his friends being lost to the dark magical energies that seemed to be so prevalent at the moment. He was grateful, and didn’t want to lose what he had.

His ears once again perked up, as he heard a sound. Furrowing his eyebrows, he tried to remember what it was.

“Raven?” He said. He once again turned to the darkness.

In the distance, two glowing red dots flicked on, but the moment he blinked they disappeared. The feeling of terror quickly rose in his throat and he wanted to scream, until...

A small black dog began walking towards him. It was small, not a threat.

“Awh!” Mumbo smiled, crouching down and offering out his hand. The dog moved towards him, sniffing the redstone on his palm, “What’re you doing out here?”

He went to stroke the dog, but felt something wet. With his free hand, he rubbed his eyes. When he pulled his sleeve, he looked down to see that what he was touching was nothing more than a pile of zombie remains.

“What the fuck!” He shouted, pulling away and wiping his hand on the grass floor.

_ “Mumbo~”  _ He turned around again, the same voice as before drilling fear into his chest.

“I’m not in the mood!” He shouted, trying to sound confident to convince himself he wasn’t scared.

There was no response.

“I said, I’m not in the-”

The radio began to crackle, and the music faded out. Mumbo left his mouth hanging open as another sound cut in- the sound of crying. His heart rate increased as the sound got louder. It was his friends- it was the Hermits. He could hear them crying out for help. 

The voice in the distance, spoke again, saying his name. ‘ _ Mumbo. Mumbo. Mumbo. Help us, Mumbo.’ _ \- it mocked, and he bit his lip. It wasn’t funny anymore. The crying was all too real.

In his fear, he lashed out, kicking the radio into the darkness. The weeping only got louder, and soon it was all around him- from every angle. He was trapped. His head thumped with the sheer sound of it, and his tired mind couldn’t comprehend what was going on.

The radio got kicked back into the light.

The music began to play once again, and the screams faded away. Mumbo wondered whether he had made it all up. He had never experienced anything remotely like what had just happened, and a high pitched squealing drilled into his sanity. Apprehensive, but trying to stay strong, he crouched down and picked the radio up, listening to the music.

The radio was turned off, and yet the music was still playing.

“What the-”

Something closed around his leg. He shouted in surprise, falling to the floor and looking around at what it was. He saw a thick red tentacle closed around his ankle, pulling him ever closer to the darkness. And in the void-like expanse, Mumbo saw eyes opening.

One, two, three.

Five, eight, thirteen.

He lost count.

He was being pulled closer away from the safety of the light, closer to the hundreds of eyes in the darkness- closer to the gaping maw that opened its mouth as he got closer.

Mumbo screamed.


	20. A Short Chapter Full of Disaster

Xisuma didn’t like doing nothing. He was a workaholic, and always enjoyed new projects. He was willing to look over Ren and Doc if it meant they were safe; but he had no trouble admitting he was bored. As a way to feel any entertainment, he was using a piece of discarded shoelace to occupy his mind.

It was something that Stress had taught him years back- the Cat’s Cradle- or something like that. And although she had taught him every step to wrap the string around his fingers- and even written them down- he still had trouble getting it perfect.

He could feel himself pouting with the concentration, unable to stop despite his want to. And just as he thought he was getting somewhere, the string just brought his hands together.

Before he could fix the mess, he jumped as something flew into the back wall of Cub’s starter house. Xisuma jumped up, shaking his hands and letting the shoelaces fall to the floor. Stuck on the back of the wall, slowly sliding down, was a raven. The blood was splattered across the white concrete in between Ren and Doc’s bed. The bird dropped to the floor.

“What on earth…?” He walked over to the bird, picking it up. 

It had flown into the wall with such force that he couldn’t discern the face. The wings sat between his thumbs and forefingers. He looked up, sighing, and looking up at the blood splattered on the wall.

_ “Xisuma~”  _ He turned around, furrowing his eyebrows and looking for the source of the voice.

He knew he definitely heard it, it was just a case of where it came from. There was no activity on the communicators- he assumed someone would’ve messaged him if they needed him, rather than come all the way to the shopping district.

Xisuma tried looking at Doc and Ren. They were still unconscious- no change there. Just to check, though, he spoke to them.

“Any of you fellas saying anything?” He asked. Nothing.

“Thought so.”

Shrugging it off, he moved on to the next step of his routine, yo-

He turned his head. Sure enough, he had heard the sound of firework rockets. Getting frustrated with his routine (as boring as it was) being interrupted, he moved to the glass railing bordering the open air second floor. His eyes strained in the lights, finally meeting with a flying figure shooting through the sky- towards him- at immense speeds.

The figure fell into the building, his back crashing into the glass and sending the fractals flying around. The figure- Mumbo- slid across the floor, stopping at the back wall.

“Mumbo, what on Earth’s up?” Xisuma jumped to his friend’s aid, “You’re hurt!”

“Broken arm.” Mumbo muttered through gritted teeth.

“What happened?”

“X, there’s something wrong with the- the- the world.” He was covered in sweat. “We didn’t win.”

“What…?”

“It- it followed us back.”


	21. Curiosity Killed the Cat

“Hey hey hey, Scar!” Tango grinned, leaning on the door frame of one of the volcanic houses.

“Oh, hi Tango. What’s up?” Scar replied, attempting to clear away a chest monster.

“Nothing much, nothing much. You?” 

“Getting better.”

“Glad to hear it. Hey, can I talk to you about something?” Tango sniffed, wiping his nose and avoiding eye contact.

“Uh… yeah?”

“Just wanted to ask because it’s a bit touchy.”

“Touchy?”

“Yeah, I wanna ask about blood magic.” He shrugged.

Scar didn’t respond, instead walking out the door of the shack and through the volcano. Tango followed, waiting for a response. He continued walking, getting outside, and sitting down on one of the many piers. Taking a deep breath in, he patted the wood, signalling for Tango to sit down. He did so.

“What do you want to know?”

“What’s up with that book?”

“I thought you’d ask about that. Cub shouldn’t have shown that to you without expecting questions.” Scar sighed, “Can I ask you why you want to know?”

Tango shrugged.

“Curiosity.”

“Hm. Okay.” The scarred man removed his hat, bringing something to fiddle with whilst he talked, “It’s a spell book. When Cub and I had a contract with a blood demon, we thought it best to write down all the spells, lest we forget.”

“Is that why you don’t let people look at it?”

“No, no. If a demon gets its hands on the book it’ll be bad.” Scar leaned back, lying on the wooden pier. 

“Oh…?” Tango followed, “Why…?”

“The magical energy in that book is enough to give a blood demon immense power. If a demon ever gets it, it’ll be unstoppable.”

“Damn, that’s worrying.” Tango raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah, one of the pages went… missing.” Scar’s eyes flicked to the side, “The page on how to kill a Demon.”

“Oh? Cub said that screwed you over, didn’t he?”

“Yeah. That’s why it’s only Cub and I have the key. To stop any more pages going missing.” He reached into his shirt, removing a key on a necklace, and dangling it, before replacing it, “I never take it off, except washing, obviously.”

Tango stood, stretching. He looked off into the distance, his fangs subconsciously biting at his lip. He yawned.

“Thank you Scar. I’ll see you soon.” And before Scar could reply, the horned man shot off into the sky.

\--------

There were some times when Scar loved being alone. His mental energy wore thin when he was in his moments of remembrance. The Blood Magic was a touchy situation, and it made his mind equally as touchy. Tango had somewhat interrupted his schedule of being alone, but he was always happy to help a friend.

He yawned, wiping his eyes and zoning out as he stood in the water off the shore of Scarrasic Islands. Taking a deep breath in, he dipped his head under the water, running his fingers through his hair. It was nice under the water- everything was quieter, distorted and strange- it inspired creation. He opened his eyes, and watched the strange way his fingers bended and distorted in the waves. He smiled, watching as the air bubbles rose to the surface; and touched a piece of coral with his foot, watching as it recoiled in response.

Scar threw his head backwards as he arose from the ocean, enjoying the way the water flew everywhere. He waded back to the shore, looping his fingers through the loops on his trousers- sodden as they were. Yawning once again, he made his way back to where he’d left his shirt and hat.

Sure enough, it was all in a pile, just as he left it. Letting the warm sun dry his hair, he hastily buttoned up his shirt and slid on his jacket. Finally, he reached for his key.

Only it wasn’t there.

He furrowed his eyebrows, reaching into his pockets and rummaging around. There was no key. No necklace, and no key for the blood magic spell tome.

His eyes widened, and his face flushed bright red. He felt a horrible embarrassment rise in his stomach, and it made him feel disgustingly ill. Crouching down, Scar put his hand over his mouth, unable to think. 

No no no no no…

No no no no no no no no no.

Nononononono.

He couldn’t have lost it, right? Scar always took every precaution possible. There’s no way he could’ve lost the key. It was incredibly dangerous, and he didn’t put the world in danger. Scar clutched his head, suddenly drenched in sweat from the fear.

It was okay.

If no one knew he had lost the key, it wouldn’t come back to haunt him, right?

Right…?

“Fuck.” Scar muttered.

He turned to sporadic looking, scratching his nails on the rocks and upturning every stone within 30ft of where he left his clothes. It didn’t make sense! The key was there- he put his head under the water for less than a minute, and it was gone! He didn’t understand! He should’ve seen someone if they were taking it! 

A beep from his communicator momentarily took his attention- a message from Xisuma.

**Xisuma: Guys we need a meeting**

**Xisuma: Can we get all those who’re free to come to the ConCorp board room, please?**

**Grian: What happened?**

**Xisuma: Mumbo’s in a bad way**

**Xisuma: Broken arm**

**Iskall85: wait what?**

**Iskall85: How?**

**Xisuma: A blood demon followed us back from the swamp.**

**cubfan135: fuck.**

Scar looked up, his face burning with embarrassment. He mentally kicked himself for being so naïve, and immediately set off for ConCorp. There was only one thing on his mind- a phrase repeating over and over.

_ That wasn’t Tango. _


	22. But Satisfaction Brought it Back

Mumbo, Xisuma, Scar, Cub, Zedaph, and Grian.

They sat in the ConCorp board room, debating and discussing. Everyone on the server had been brought up to date, and it was a tense situation trying to figure out what was going wrong.

“...and it grabbed me, and pulled me in the darkness. I don’t remember what happened then, I only remember flying through the shopping district to Xisuma.” Mumbo muttered, looking down at his arm, newly reset and casted.

“Do you remember what it looked like?” Cub asked, leaning back in his chair and nervously tapping his fingers on his leg.

“It was human shaped. Maybe 6ft, shadowy.” He rubbed his chin, deep in thought, “Had all these eyes and mouths floating around it.”

“Hm.”

“What’s the verdict, Cub?” Xisuma asked, eyeing up his mustached friend protectively.

“It doesn’t make sense.” He shrugged, “Blood demons shouldn’t be able to travel anywhere without a host. It’s just… it’s impossible.”

There was another spot of silence, everyone frowning. You could practically hear the cogs whirring in their heads, and yet there was no resolve coming. Grian sighed.

“Could it have found its way back on one of us?” He shrugged.

“It shouldn’t have, we were all protected.”

“Ren and Doc might be able to help us, right? Any updates on them?” Grian asked.

“Impulse was working pretty hard on some restoration potions, but they haven’t been working. He was trying some magical components and had the recipe sorted.” Xisuma shrugged, “There was an accident and the potions spilled.”

“Is he remaking them?” 

“No, no. That man hasn’t slept in almost a week and a half. He didn’t write the recipe down either, so we’re in a bit of a stalemate at the moment.”

“Mumbo.” Scar asked, leaning on his hand, “Are you sure you didn’t see anything else? Like how the demon looks.”

“Well…” He sighed, “The eyes were... Like… uh… I don’t want to say it, but the eyes looked like Tango’s.”

Zedaph scoffed, quickly covering his mouth. He pushed his chair backwards, the screeching sound echoing and only bringing more attention to himself. Face flushing up bright red, he buried his head in his hands, waving his arm as an indication to carry on.

“Tango went with you guys, right?” Grian asked.

“Yeah, but he was protected. The demon couldn’t have possessed him.” Xisuma shrugged.

“Could it have… taken a ride back? Like a piggyback, but without any of the possession.” Grian pondered, passing a small chocolate bar to Mumbo.

“No. With protection, Demons can’t even touch us.”

Having regained his composure, Zedaph sat up. His cheeks were still glowing red, but he raised an eyebrow, and a good question.

“Are the Vex Magic pendants really that powerful?” He asked, his voice tired.

“Wha- Zedaph, what do you mean?” Xisuma furrowed his eyebrows.

“Can the Vex Magic pendants really protect you from demons? That’s really powerful.”

“Well yeah, they can, but Tango didn’t have one.”

“How was he protected then?”

Xisuma frowned,

“Through his magic contract.”

Zedaph’s eyes widened, and his face was immediately overtaken with panic.

“He didn’t tell you?” He asked, “Fuck. Oh fuck.”

Everyone in the room turned to one another, confused as he stared into space, eyes glazed over. 

“Didn’t tell us what?” Cub asked, eyes dark, “Zedaph, Tango could be at risk. You need to tell us.”

“Tango doesn’t have magic, or a contract. He lost it just over a year ago.”

Silence immediately fell over the room. Cub and Scar locked eyes, their expressions unreadable. Xisuma, on the other hand, stuttered in disbelief.

“W- _ What? _ ”

“He was afraid to tell you. Shit, I should’ve made him.”

“It’s too late for that now. Tango’s in danger, and we need to find him.” Cub stood.

Xisuma was already on it, a see through screen projecting out from his helmet. He swiped through windows and windows of admin commands, until coming to a certain page. It had a list of all of the Hermits- even those who weren’t in Season Six. He clicked on Tango’s name, and a map lit up- a map of the main Hermitcraft island. A small dot was positioned on the bay- by Impulse’s base.

“He’s at Impulse’s house. Fuck, we need to go- now. This is only gonna end in disa-”

There was a ringing sound, coming from Cub’s communicator. Not missing a beat, he picked it up, and Tango’s voice burst through the speakers into the room. He was laughing.

_ He was laughing. _

“ _ HAHAHAHAHA! _ ” Tango’s voice mocked them, “ _ All together now, are you? Having fun? _ ”

“Tango, what are you doing?” Scar asked, his tone toxic.

“ _ Oh, Tango’s doing nothing. He’s only helping me with my... ventriloquist act _ .” Although it was his voice, Tango wasn’t the one speaking.

“Whoever or whatever you are, you have no right to take over our friend’s body! Leave now or we’ll make you!” Cub shouted.

Tango continued laughing.

“ _ You and what army? _ ”

“Us, and every Hermit.” He replied.

“ _ HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Every Hermit?”  _

Another sound burst through the Communicator’s speakers. It was quiet at first, but louder and more apparent. It was a scream. It continued to get even louder, so much so that the Hermits had to cover their ears.

“ _ DON’T TRUST IT!”  _ It was Impulse, screaming in pain.

“ _ Shut it, brat!”  _ ‘Tango’ shouted, the sound of something slamming into a table crackling through the speakers.

“What are you doing?” Zedaph butted in, his voice wavering.

_ “I’m showing your friend some manners. _ ” Impulse let out a cry as the demon spoke, “ _ You said it yourself, Zedaph. Getting Team ZIT back together was exactly what you wanted, was it not? So why don’t you come and get him?” _

There was another sound- a sword being drawn. All in the Boardroom listened with bated breaths, hating every moment. ‘Tango’ began to laugh, and Impulse returned to panic.

_ “No no no no! Please, please! Nonononono! TANGO PLE-” _

The communicator shut off.

“Get your armour.” Xisuma stood, “We’re leaving, now.”

\--------

“Stand up.” ‘Tango’ spoke, pointing his sword at Impulse.

Impulse frowned.

“Was that all you wanted?” He said, standing.

“Not yet. I need to get my hands on that book.” 

“Then you’ll let Tango go?”

“Yes, yes, whatever. I just need your help.”

“Can we do this without the whole ‘traumatising the hermits into thinking I’m hurt’?” Impulse asked, wiping the dust from his shorts.

“They’re stubborn. I would’ve thought you knew that by now.” ‘Tango’ sheathed his sword, turning away.

“How did you change your location on Xisuma’s map? His admin powers are impossible to bypass.”

“Impossible for humans. I can do anything.” The demon grinned, “Before we go, you must promise me something.” 

“What?”

“I can use you and your resources to get what I want.” He offered his hand.

“...If it means you let Tango go, fine.” Impulse shook his hand, 

“ _ Deal _ .”


	23. A Spirit of Darkness

Xisuma, Cub, and Scar breached over the hill, their wings spread wide. Zedaph had split from the group to protect Doc and Ren; and Grian insisted Mumbo not get into any more trouble, and escorted him away. Left flying towards where they believed the demon to be, the three magic users prepared for the worst.

Cub held tightly onto the key around his neck with his spare hand, his mind racing with thoughts of the worst. He looked to Scar, but Scar was unreadable. His eyebrows were knotted closely together, and he chewed his lip. Then turning to Xisuma, he couldn’t read him either. His violet mask glinted in the light, blocking any view in. 

They silently landed, each quickly sneaking into Impulse’s mountain-side house. The glass of all of the windows were smashed, and the interior was in disarray. However, it was dark. No torches or lamps were lit, and it all seemed still.

“He was in here?” Scar asked, pacing around as his eyes scanned the room.

“Yeah, my tracker said so.” Xisuma replied. He called the others over to the stairs, and they began to descend.

But when they reached the bottom, into the area where Impulse mostly worked, it was also empty.

Neither Tango nor Impulse were there.

“You sure?” Cub asked, looking more and more concerned by the second.

Xisuma raised his hand, conjuring up the admin screens. He once again found Tango’s location and opened his map. The marker representing Tango was still positioned where they were.

“He’s gotta be hiding.” His panic was setting in, “IMPULSE? IMPULSE, ARE YOU HERE?”

Scar joined in,

“IMPULSE? TANGO?”

They all continued to roam around the underground chambers, stepping into every farm, every section of the iron farm- villager breeders- anything. Cub, meanwhile, stood in the centre and stared at the nether portal. His heart was dropping, and he could tell something was wrong. The way the ground was moving, the way he felt the magic in the air buzzing.

Something was coming. Something big. And he was panicking.

A message buzzed from the communicator. He looked.

**Tango: You’re getting colder. Take another look.**

“Xisuma.” He said, his voice trembling, “Check the map again.”

“W- what? Cub, we know he’s here. It doesn’t lie.”

“Check it.”

Xisuma came to a stop, his heart thumping so loud he swore it could be heard. He went through the motions, and within seconds, the map was lit up from his helmet lights. And sure enough- once again- it portrayed Tango as being at Impulse’s house.

“Check where Impulse is.”

Silently obeying, he changed the map. It lit up the room in a green light, and they froze. Horror set in as they saw where Impulse was.

In silence, Xisuma put the maps side by side. Tango’s one flickered- correcting, and changing. The map had lied.

Impulse and Tango were at ConCorp.

They were in the ConCorp Boardroom.

Cub stumbled backwards. His heart rate increased instantly, and yet he still tried to maintain composure.

“It’s okay, it’s okay.” He muttered- more to himself than anyone else, “The demon can’t get to the spellbook.”

“It can’t?”

“We chained it up. Only Scar and I have the keys. It’s fine.”

Xisuma and Cub turned at the sound of noise, seeing Scar wretching on the floor. The fear only got worse. 

“Scar…?”

He fell onto his back, shaking and wiping his mouth. The look in his eyes was empty.

“I lost the key.”

“What…?”

“I… I lost the key.”

\--------

‘Tango’ roamed through the now-empty ConCorp Boardroom, his face locked in a grin. He perused the shelves, looking for the book he needed; whilst drinking alcohol from a full bottle.

“Are you almost done?” Impulse sat on one of the chairs, his hands bound together by some thick rope. He lowered his voice, “I want Tango back.”

“Shut up, shut up, shut up!” ‘Tango’ groaned, “Do you ever stop talking?”

“Why Tango?” He asked, “Why did you choose him?”

“I didn’t choose him. He was the only one not protected. So I hitched a ride. I would never choose someone like him as a host.”

“Why…?”

“He’s used to magic- he’s familiar. Which means he’s more likely to resist my control over him.”

“Has he been doing that?”

“Can you shut up? I don’t want to answer your immature questions, and you’re doing my head in!” ‘Tango’ turned around, throwing the glass bottle. It struck the back of Impulse’s chair, sending glass to ricochet into his arms, and the side of his face.

The demon stopped, taking the communicator from Tango’s pocket, and typing a message.

**Tango: You’re getting colder. Take another look.**

Impulse cowered in the chair, leaning into his hands and muttering reassurance to himself. He was beginning to regret helping the demon, wondering if there was another way that Tango could’ve been saved. Mind racing, and regret piercing his mind, blood was thumping in his ears.

‘Tango’ let out a long inhumane screech, howling with laughter. He pulled a book from the shelf and slammed it onto the table- sending the birds flying, and Impulse into shivers of fear. With a grimace that radiated evil, he pulled a key from his pocket.

“Iiiiimpulse~” He grinned, squatting on the table in front of the cowering figure, “Impulse. Hey. Hey, look at me, you fuck!”

He placed his hand under Impulse’s chin, forcing the terrified man to look at him. They locked eyes for what felt like forever, and it was eventually broken by him speaking again.

“Guess what I’m gonna do when I become unstoppable,” He said.

Impulse looked away, his face filled with scrapes from the glass. ‘Tango’ was getting angrier by the second, and swapped his light grasp to tightly digging his fingers into Impulse’s neck. A deep growl was echoing out from his throat.

“I’m gonna make this world absolute hell for all those who live in it. Eh? How’s about that?”

Impulse said nothing.

‘Tango’ huffed, turning away and letting go. He stood on the table, lifting the book up, and breathing deeply. With a final accusatory look to Impulse, he used the key to unlock the chains binding the book. They fell onto the thick table, and that was it.

The demon let out a bloodcurdling laugh.

He opened the book.

As the pages flicked through with no reason as to why, Impulse looked in horror as the words lifted off of the page, instantly shooting up into the air. The words morphed into a thick red beam of light, bursting from the book and up, up up.

The demon looked back down, locking eyes with Impulse.

“Come on,  _ Impulse, _ let’s go on a little trip.”


	24. Interlude, The Void

The Bloody One disappeared, sending The Vex and The Flame into a fit of anger. The void quickly turned warm.

“He’s done it now. We should snuff him for his crimes. He shouldn’t be in the Humans’ world.” The Flame hissed. The Vex turned to the third entity in the area.

“Why did you bring us here, Void?”

The Void stood from its sitting position.

“The Bloody One is trying to claim Humans when he shouldn’t be. You both have- or had-” It shot a look at The Flame, “contracts with Humans, and they’re going to need our power in the future.”

“You could’ve stopped this, Void.”

“I could say the same to you, Vex! We all could’ve stopped this! But we didn’t.” The Void remained calm, “We tried to stop it by containing him here but that clearly didn’t work, did it?”

“You never told us why we’re here. The humans are of no concern to us. They’re doomed and we shouldn’t meddle with that.” The Flame said.

“Your lack of contract has made you Apathetic, Flame! We’re here to meddle. If we don’t stop The Bloody One, Hermitcraft will be destroyed- and by extension, us.”

“And you suggest we stop this how?”

“We have to be willing to listen to our contracts for once. They may have to order  _ us  _ around and tell  _ us  _ to do things, and we’re going to have to listen.”

“I don’t like being ordered around by mortals, Void.”

“Well you’re gonna have to face it, Flame! We don’t have a choice! This or death, so deal with it!”

“... _ Fine _ .”


	25. Times are Changing

Zedaph nervously sat in the top floor of Cub’s starter house, his face locked in a frown. He knew that Xisuma, Cub, and Scar were confronting Tango and Impulse, and he… he couldn’t. He knew that he didn’t want to see his closest friends in that state, and that he would only get in the way. As much as it hurt, he decided he would be most useful protecting two of his other friends.

Nothing had changed.

Everyone was wondering whether Ren and Doc would ever wake up, and each day further it seemed ever less likely that they would. The Hermits had tried near everything, and nothing was working. If they knew  _ why _ they weren’t waking up, maybe progress would be made, but no one knew anything.

Zedaph’s leg was jumping up and down as he sat, and he was unable to stop the movement. He kept forgetting to breathe and holding his breath, before reminding himself that he was okay- that  _ it was okay _ . It was a lie, but he was a firm believer that if you told yourself a lie for long enough, you’d believe it.

Sadness was a thing of rarity on Hermitcraft. With all his friends around him- helping, listening, loving- there was rarely a reason to be sad. It was the life of dreams, some would say, having such an ironclad support system was a commodity appreciated at every point.

And yet when things fell apart, they fell to dust.

He sighed, trying to keep a level mind. It never did well to make a bad situation worse by panicking! He wasn’t panicking though. He didn’t know what he was feeling. Worm Man would know.

Zedaph snorted, wondering why he thought of that. His thoughts often did that- flicked to stupid skits or people to entertain him. It was quite reassuring at times, and gave him a lot of ideas for film. Such was the way of Worm Man.

He turned back to look at Doc and Ren, only to find something… wrong. The two unconscious men were breathing heavily, their chests heaving. Zedaph frowned, standing up and moving towards them. He turned away for a moment, feeling confused and worried, and when he turned back…

Doc had his eyes open.

“Doc…?”

As they locked eyes, Ren shot into a sitting position, peering around and throwing the bedsheets aside. Zedaph rose to try and stop him, but Ren was already standing; stumbling to the glass and looking out into the shopping district. Doc rose slower, his hand instinctively grasping for where his metal art used to be. He stared in the same direction as Ren, looking at something that wasn’t there.

“Uh… welcome back…?” Zedaph asked, his eyes flicking from one person to the next, “...Ren? Doc?”

They didn’t respond. Just… kept staring out into the sky.

Doc stood, looking around, but paying no attention to Zedaph. He wandered around the top floor of the house, opening chests and barrels- looking under the beds, and pressing his hand onto the concrete wall; until he found what he was looking for. Zedaph looked forward in confusion as Doc and Ren helped each other into suits of armour, and to equip themselves with weapons.

“Guys?” He asked. His voice was ignored, and immediately brushed aside as Ren put his hand on Doc’s shoulder and leant in close.

“As far away from here as possible.” He muttered. Doc put his good hand on Ren’s arm.

“Further.” He replied, equally as quiet.

And with that, they started down the stairs. By the time Zedaph was struck out of his stupor, they had already made their way out of the house. He frowned, jumping down from the balcony and chasing after them, feeling a crack in his ankle as he landed.

The sun was beginning to meet the horizon, a crimson kiss spreading electric volts of orange and red dancing through the clouds. The clouds in question were casting ominous shadows in the distance- Cub’s starter house was one of the only buildings still in the light. His legs were shaking, and his throat was dry. Stumbling, he came up straight behind Doc, reaching out and grabbing his shoulder.

They continued walking.

“Is that it, then?” Zedaph asked, “Just gonna leave?”

“The demon found the book. It’ll be coming for us next.” Doc said, not bothering to turn around.

“You’ve been in a coma for over a month. Everyone’s been worried sick, and as soon as you wake up you… leave without talking to me? Tell me what’s going on!” He was getting more exasperated by the second.

In the distance, an owl started cooing.

“We’re talking to you now, are we not?” 

“LOOK AT ME! JUST LOOK AT ME!” He shouted.

The pair stopped in their tracks. Ren turned around, remorse in his eyes. He grabbed a hold of Doc’s good arm, forcing the taller man to stop too.

“Zedaph, we have to go. We have to get as far away from the Demon as possible.”2

“Neither of you are in any state to be leaving, let alone protecting yourself if you need to.”

“What do you propose then, Zedaph? We stay here to be hunted like sitting ducks?” Doc raised an eyebrow.

“I’m coming with you.”

\--------

Xisuma, Scar, and Cub shot through the sky at immense speeds, in silence. The sky was turning dark and their time was running out. Before long, they’d lose Tango, and possibly Impulse too. They travelled just underneath the cloudline, feeling the cold as rain began to fall from the sky. In the distance, thunder began to echo through the sky above the sea.

In the distance, two figures began to breach over the horizon. It was ‘Tango’, holding Impulse in the air by the ropes around his wrists. The two groups came to a head, rearing up and floating in front of each other.

“Who are you, and why are you taking control of our friend?” Scar called out, his hand clenched around his sword.

“You already know that, Scar!” The Demon spoke through Tango, “Say my name!”

“No… No!” Scar protested.

“Say my name… or I’ll drop your little friend into the ocean and watch him DROWN!” The Demon laughed, lifting Impulse up slightly.

Impulse looked terrified. His eyes were locked wide open, and he was flailing his legs around in an attempt to feel safer in the air. Covered in scratches and bloody bruises, he looked to the others with a pleading stare.

“The Bloody One!” Cub shouted. “That’s your name, isn’t it,  _ coward _ ? The Bloody One who hides in humans’ bodies. The Bloody One who surrounds himself with lower lifeforms to make himself feel more powerful!”

The Bloody One laughed, his Elytra coming loose.

“You have some confidence,  _ boy. _ ” His voice was bitter, “You could never defeat me by yourself.”

“That’s why he has us!” Xisuma pitched in, frustration tinting his tone, “Get OUT of Tango before we force you out of there!”

The Demon smirked,

“Come and get him.”

In one swift movement, he threw Impulse up into the air, quickly transferring the Elytra to him. Impulse flew off quickly, leaving the Demon to fall into the water below.

Only, Cub saw straight through it.

As Scar and Xisuma dashed to the ocean’s surface to recover the body, Cub knew what had happened. The Bloody One had moved from Tango’s body into Impulse’s. 

And he was already gone.


	26. Tango’s Back in Action, Baby!

“You can let me out now! It’s boring in here!” Tango called out. He was locked in one of the buildings at Scar’s Volcano, whilst Cub, Scar, and Xisuma sat outside, talking in hushed tones as to not alert their friend.

“I don’t like listening to the demon tryna get out. It’s bugging me.” Xisuma whispered, sending a shifty glance towards the locked door.

“I don’t understand why it gave itself up so easily.” Scar frowned, drawing his arms around himself in a hug, “It doesn’t make sense.”

“It didn’t give itself up.” Cub sighed, exasperated.

“It did, we’ve got it right in there, haven’t we?”

“No, we’ve got Tango in there.”

“Cub, if you’re gonna tell us bad news, I’d prefer you’d just say it instead of dancing about the subject.” Xisuma’s fingers twitched nervously.

“Where’s Impulse?” He asked.

Realisation dawned on the other two Hermits. Their eyes widened, and they began to realise what Cub was alluding to. From inside the building, Tango had fallen silent- resigned, perhaps, to his fate. Scar broke the silence.

“Why did The Bloody One move into Impulse’s body? Was Tango not powerful enough?”

“The opposite.” Cub shrugged, “I thought you two out of everyone would know that. If you have a resistance to magic, you can easily fight back against being possessed. It’s why the Vex usually possesses Scar over me. I’ve got more resistance to magic than you.”

Cub stood, beginning to pace as he spoke. The others nodded along, waiting for the conclusion that in reality, they all knew was coming.

“Tango was probably fighting tooth and nail the whole time he was possessed. So the demon-”

“Moved to a body that couldn’t fight it off.” Xisuma muttered.

“ _...Guys… _ ?” Tango’s voice- timid and subdued- echoed from through the window.

Xisuma stood from where he was leaning against a stone wall, and moved to the door, opening it and stepping inside. The others followed.

The room was dark thanks to the lack of windows- the only one being just wide enough to peer through. The walls, made from wood and sandstone, provided acoustics that made every word echo ever so slightly. The threadbare furniture consisted of a scrappy wooden chair with one leg significantly shorter- propped up with a pile of books, and a small table.

Tango set on the chair, his hands uncomfortably clamped together. He looked up, his teeth grinding together in a makeshift smile.

“I’m not possessed anymore, I-”

“No need, Tango.” Cub interrupted.

The blond man shrunk back into his seat, his face flushing up red. He seemed so small and timid compared to usual- like the cartoony Tango had been worn away, and completely cast aside. Even the way he held himself reminded the Xisuma of a child.

“What do you remember?” Xisuma asked, the echo of his voice causing Tango to shoot a glance behind him.

“I’ve been fighting for control since I stepped into that wretched swamp. It was only a nagging at first, but it got worse. I had a constant headache so bad it was like someone was screaming into my ears. I-” His lip trembled, “I lost control and The Bloody One took over. I was too weak and I couldn’t stop it. I… I… I-”

“Stop.” Scar frowned, “Shut up, Tango.”

Tango shrunk back further, biting cuts into his lip.

“You managed to fight off a demon for over a month. I don’t know anyone that powerful, that  _ strong _ . So please, Tango. Stop saying you were weak. This isn’t your fault, and no one is blaming you.”

Tango nodded, his chest puffing out slightly. He wiped the tears from his eyes with his sleeves and continued, the waver in his voice slightly less noticeable.

“I was trapped in my mind and I couldn’t get out. It was like I took a backseat in my own body. I could see it all, but I couldn’t move. I knew what the Demon was thinking, but I was relegated away. I couldn’t feel, I couldn’t smell, all I could do was… watch and listen.” His eyes seemed hollow, the bags underneath them deep and sallow, as if the thought spurred on some form of dissociation within him, “I began to doubt if I even existed. I didn’t have a body, and I felt like a ghost. I still swear I can feel eyes watching me.”

“And yet you were still fighting.” Cub said.

“Hm?” Tango looked up. Cub was peering out of the door, his foot tapping on the floor. He was on edge, “What do you mean, Cubby?”

“As you saw with Doc and Ren, normal people would be in a coma for months after being possessed by a Demon. And yet here you are, standing strong.”

“Wouldn’t go that far.” He chuckled quietly.

“You said you could hear what the Demon was planning, right, Tango?” Cub continued as Tango nodded, “Did you hear what its plan was?”

“Yeah. It talked about reclaiming… itself? And then it mentioned eating? A lot of eating… It doesn’t make sense.”

“Eating…” Cub rolled his eyes, the veins in his neck tensing, “That’s all The Bloody One wants. To eat the world and move on to the next. First us, then the Nether, then the End, then… who knows what! It could be halfway to Etho’s world by next week!”

“What about the reclaiming part? It’s gibberish.”

“No, no that makes sense.” Scar shrugged, “When a Demon possesses someone, it leaves a bit of itself behind. Explains why you feel like you’re being watched. There’s a bit of The Bloody One in your head still.”

“I… don’t like that.” Tango furrowed his eyebrows, “Wait, if it leaves something behind in everyone-”

“Ren and Doc-” Xisuma cut in, concern crossing his eyes.

\--------

It was unanimous- the decision to fly to Cub’s starter house to check up on the comatose pair. Within mere seconds, they were landing to find the house empty. No Doc, no Ren, no Zedaph. Xisuma rooted around, searching for clues.

“They took the armour, which means-”

“They left to fight.” Cub interrupted, “They can’t face The Bloody One, what are they thi-”

“No, no, that can’t be it.” Tango shook his head, “Zed wouldn’t let them- it’s not like him.”

“Not meaning to be rude, Tango, but the whole server’s had a case of acting strange.”

“I get that, but look.” He pointed out of the house, to one of the bushes, and floating down to inspect it, “It’s a bit of Zed’s shirt.”

Sure enough, tied around one of the branches was a torn piece of fabric from Zedaph’s sleeve. It was tied neatly and precisely, in a little bow- hidden enough to not be  _ seen _ , but visible enough to to be  _ found _ .

“If they were in a rush to kill The Bloody One- or even if they were being taken- Zed wouldn’t have time to make this knot so intricate- let alone even tie it to the bush.”

“What are you suggesting they did?” Cub asked, turning to the side and breathing a heavy sigh.

“They ran away. They knew The Bloody One was coming for them, and so they scarpered.”

Scar opened his mouth to say something, but Tango interrupted,

“Trust me, please. I know I’ve been the villain so far, but I  _ know  _ Zed. And I know he’s not an idiot, despite how he presents himself.”

“This is good news and all, but…” Scar frowned, “Where’s Impul- I mean, where’s the Demon? Surely it should be wreaking havoc by now?”

And that’s when their communicators spluttered to life. It was BDubs, and he was panicking.


	27. Popping Bubbles

BDubs felt a manic grin cross his face as he saw his message being transmitted to nearly all of the Hermits’ Communicators. He laughed, blocking out the sound of banging on his door.

He had been running for about half an hour, being asked the same question over and over again by his pursuer. With no idea why, or how his foe was so…  _ powerful _ , he was just grateful to be alive at that point.

“THIS IS BAD!” He shouted into the communicator, his frantic laugh giving away his panic, “Impulse is trying to kill me! I know I’ll respawn, but he’s using this weird sword and it’s creeping me out! He’s got my shoulder with the sword, and it’s not healing. I don’t know wh-”

The door broke down, and ‘Impulse’ rushed towards Bdubs, picking up his communicator and throwing it with such force against the wall that it scattered into near fractals.

BDubs understood what was going on when they locked gazes. Impulse’s normal deep brown eyes were discoloured and milky, and his hands had grown into dark claws. That wasn’t Impulse, it was the Demon everyone had been talking about.

“Do you understand this now? Understand the shit you’re in?” The Demon asked, as if he was reading BDubs’s mind, “Good. I’ll ask one more time, Double O.  _ Where is Doc _ ?”

“How should I know?” BDubs spluttered.

Letting out a growl of annoyance, The Demon took BDubs by the scruff of his shirt and pushed him against the wall- he smelt blood, and wasn’t sure whose it was.

The Demon lifted a blade to BDubs’ throat. The sword in question was unlike anything he had ever seen. It looked like it was crafted from some sort of red crystal- he considered Ruby, but knew it was far more sinister. He could see…  _ veins  _ pulsing underneath the crystal. In fact, the whole weapon was  _ breathing _ with life. The slash in his arm sent a burst of pain down his arm as he thought about it.

“How should you know?” The Demon was turning near feral, “HOW SHOULD YOU KNOW? YOU’RE CLOSE TO HIM! THAT’S HOW THE FUCK YOU SHOULD KNOW! ANSWER ME, SCUM!”

“H-h-hey! I- I- don’t k-know!” BDubs cowered, “C-Cub’s starter house! I don’t know where that is, I don’t go to the shopping district that often!”

“FUCK OFF!” It ran its hands through its hair- grey flecks appearing, “He isn’t there. Tell me where he is or I’ll kill you.”

“I said! I don’t know!” The Demon raised a fist, punching the wall beside BDubs’ head and sending wood chippings flying everywhere.

“Well then, BDubs. You should  _ tell me _ where he  _ would go  _ to  _ hide  _ if he was being  _ hunted,  _ hm? Don’t wanna lose that pretty little head of yours, do you?”

“N-no!” BDubs peered around. His stables were awfully quiet. “He’d probably be at Area 77- NO! Uh, the Team STAR base… no, no, the stock exchange! Or he might be at his New Hermitville base! I-I don’t know! Doc’s unpredictable!”

“You’re fucking useless.” The Demon pulled away, shoving BDubs to the floor. 

Before he could scramble away, he reached his hand out and grasped the wood- his fingernails pulling away as he scraped for a handhold. The sword was impaled straight through his hand, palm down. He screamed.

The demon pulled out the sword, leaving a gaping hole in BDubs’ hand. It walked to the door, turning around a final time.

“Best check on your horsies, Double O. Heard they were...  _ in over their head  _ spending time with you.”

He heard the sounds of firework rockets as the Demon flew off into the distance. The silence was piercing. Looking down at his hand, BDubs inspected the damage. WIth his good hand, he reached into his pocket and downed a healing potion. Nothing changed. The blood was still weeping from his shoulder, and bubbling from his palm.

That… that shouldn’t have happened. 

His hand should’ve healed.

He stood, panicking, and stumbled out the door, his shoulder slamming into the doorframe as his legs trembled. The sun blinked in his eyes, and his vision disappeared for a few moments. When it returned, he wished it hadn’t.

Sprawled out on the ground in front of his house was his Horse. Well, his horse’s body. The head was lying a few feet away.

“No no no no! No! Horsey!” He cried, falling to his knees in front of the corpse. Tears began to pour down his cheeks, and he cradled the body in his hands, the blood from his hand mixing with that of the horse’s. “Please, no. No no no…  _ please. _ ”

The birds had stopped singing.

“W-wake up, stupid…” His voice was quiet, a small dent in the silence, “ _ Please. _ ”

He was still slowly rocking back and forth, stroking his horse’s fur when he heard the sound of Elytra behind him. Ready to succumb to the Demon, he didn’t even turn around.

“Bubbles?”

BDubs whipped his head around, snot and tears running down his face as he cried and cried. Keralis frowned, rushing over to his friend and bringing him into a hug.

“Bubbles, what’s wrong? What happened, sweetface?” His soft voice was reassuring, and BDubs let out a sad laugh.

“Keralis, kill me.”

“W-what?” Keralis stumbled back, his face locked in a terrified glance.

“Trust me. I’ll respawn. Please.”

Keralis’ face was still a mix of confusion and terror. He shook his head.

“No, Bubbles. We can get you a new horse, it’ll be fine.”

“Keralis, this isn’t about the horse.” BDubs’ lip quivered, “I… I’ll be f-fine. I have to test something out. I-I’ll resp-respawn. Please.”

  
  


Keralis frowned, the notion of harming his friend disturbing. Nevertheless, he nodded slowly, standing and raising his bow.

“Fine. But if I find one thing wrong, we’re going straight to Sheshwammy.” The arrow pointed in between BDubs’ eyes, and with a deep breath from both of them, he drew the bowstring back. A few seconds passed.

Keralis shot the arrow.

A raven in a tree nearby cawed, taking the silence as an opportunity to fly down and land on the corpse. It started to peck at the horse’s wound. He began to panic, his eyes nervously flicking around. There were seconds with nothing. No BDubs. Keralis became restless, eyeing up the space where his friend had disappeared into a puff of smoke.

“ _ Bubbles _ ?” His voice was only a squeak.

Suddenly, bursting through the door, BDubs came stumbling out, groaning and grumbling. The slash that had been in his shoulder had grown, now spitting out blood. The  _ hole in his palm  _ had also grown, and he seemed to be unable to move his hand as it flinched under the excess of bubbling blood.

“Bad bad bad bad!” He cried out, falling into Keralis, “Why haven’t they healed yet? Shit, Keralis, I’m in a bad way.”

“Bubbles, we need to leave, now. Where’s your Elytra? We’re going to Sheshwammyvoid.”

“I… I feel kinda… light… headed…” BDubs fell limp in his friends arms.

“Bubbles! Look into my eyes!”

Nothing.

“Oh no.” Keralis muttered.

Keeping BDubs in his one arm, he removed his communicator from his pocket and quickly typed a message in chat.

**Keralis: Sheshwammy, I need you**

**Xisuma: are you sure? i can’t be wasting time at the moment**

**Keralis: bubbles is hurt**

**Keralis: not healing**

**Xisuma: Meet me at idea**

\--------

Xisuma had been waiting outside Idea for a good half an hour- pacing up and down the neatly manicured lawn and constantly checking his watch. He was about to turn and leave before he heard a voice shouting down from the skies.

“SHESHWAMMYYYYYY!” Keralis- barely flying for having BDubs resting in his arms- stumbled to the floor, sprawling out on the grass and sending the unconscious body lying face down.

“What happened? Why is he so pale?”

“I found him outside next to a dead horsie. He was acting weird! I tried to talk sense into him but he asked me to kill him!” He panicked, “He has wounds that aren’t healing and I don’t get it!”

“Show me.” Xisuma quickly spoke. Keralis rolled BDubs over, pointing to his palm and his shoulder.

Xisuma frowned.

“We need to go.” He huffed, “This is just getting worse by the hour.”


	28. On the Topic of Blaming Yourself

“Why are we back here again? We should be finding Impulse, right?” Tango was restless.

“I’d love to be doing that if we knew where the Demon was going next- and why it went after BDubs.”

BDubs in question sat against the wall of iTrade, finally awake as Xisuma and Keralis had managed to stop the bleeding. He still looked as white as a sheet, however, and was clearly still in pain.  
“I don’t mean to interrupt,” His voice was weak, “But do you have any idea why my wounds aren’t healing?”

“What sword did the demon use to attack you?”

“It was a red one. It like… pulsed or something.”

Scar nodded in recognition, his eyes sad,  
“It’s a sword blessed by The Bloody One. Just like Bloodletter.” He winced, “Swords that are blessed by… any higher being can’t be healed by potions or respawning. Only time can heal the wounds of the gods. And they leave gnarly scars.” He motioned to the scars all over him.

“Why did he attack you?” Xisuma asked.

“Why don’t you ask BDubs all the questions, yeah! BDubs, who has a scrambled mind at the moment! This is fine.”

“BDubs, I appreciate you’ve been hurt, but if we don’t find the Demon more people will be harmed.”

“He was asking about Doc.” He huffed, turning away.

“Did you tell it where Doc was?”

“No, because I don’t know! Why does everyone assume I know where he is! We’re not joined at the hip!”

Cub clenched his hand into a loose point and shook it. His eyes widened in realisation and he let out a sigh as he understood. With the hypothesis almost visibly brewing behind his eyes, he turned towards Scar and Xisuma. Keralis stayed beside BDubs, looking up to the back of his head.  
“Friends.” He smiled.

“Are you addressing us, or…?”

“No, no- it’s why the Demon went to BDubs!” Cub’s hands moved wildly as he spoke, “The Bloody One is trying to find Doc, so of course it went to who it thought was Doc’s closest friend! With BDubs having no idea, the Demon has to be searching for Ren now, which means…”

“Wouldn’t it be searching for Tango?” Xisuma asked.

“If it wanted Tango, it would be here right now.” Cub said matter of factly, “If it was searching for Ren, it’d go for one of his closest friends. Anyone got any idea who that could be?”

Three names were thrown out into the open- Grian, Stress, and False; and Cub began to nod as he paced up and down,  
“Right. Xisuma, you check on Stress, I’ll see False, and Scar, go and talk to Grian.”

Tango frowned, standing up. A rush of wind swept through the shopping district, blowing his blond hair into his eyes. Chest heaving and anger on his mind, by the time he pushed it to the side everyone was walking away.  
“I’m sorry, what?” He asked, swiping his hair back as the wind died down, “What about me?”

Xisuma nodded in realisation, but turned to BDubs and Keralis instead of Tango,  
“BDubs, Keralis, you guys are gonna stay with TFC whilst you heal up. You’ll be safe there.” He said, getting smiles and nods in return as the pair stood up and began slowly walking away.

“X!” Tango raised his voice, frustrated, “Listen to me! What about me? How do I help?”

“You help by going with those two and staying with TFC!” Xisuma stepped forward, standing directly in front of his frustrated friend, “Okay?”

“I’m not gonna sit here and be useless!”

“You’re not being useless, Tango!” Everyone around could hear the desperation in the admin’s voice, “If you go looking in places where The Bloody One could be, you’re gonna get caught and it’s gonna get stronger!”

“How does it even reclaim the part of itself inside me? It’d be better if I got rid of it so I could help!”

“STOP IT, TANGO!” Xisuma threw his helmet off, “IF THE DEMON RECLAIMS EVEN JUST ONE MORE OF ITS FRAGMENTS, IT’LL BE ABLE TO START EATING THE FUCKING WORLD! How does it reclaim a fragment? HOW? BY KILLING YOU, TANGO.”

“But I’ll respawn-”

“NO!” The admin clutched his hands to the side of his head, trying to calm himself, “If it reclaims a fragment of itself, it does so by killing you forever. No respawning. And… And I don’t want that.”

Tango had recoiled, his mouth slightly open, and his hands clutched closely into itself. He was hunched over, and had his eyebrows furrowed. The expression in his face was telling. He was scared.  
“Crap.” He frowned, “X, I’m sorry. I… I just want to make it up for what I did-”

Xisuma stepped forward, taking his hands.  
“You did nothing, Tango, and it’s time you realise that.” He smiled, slowly pulling away and making his way towards the Nether Portal, “TFC’s waiting for you, don’t leave him hanging.”

With the sounds of the Portal echoing through the shopping district as Tango was left alone, he turned around and began walking toward the entrance to TFC’s Bunker.

\--------

TFC’s bunker had a constant buzzing sound coming from the fluorescent LED light strips attached to the corners of the hallways. It wasn’t noticeable until there were moments of extreme silence- times when not even the sound of breathing was loud enough to cut the atmosphere. Held breaths, closed eyes, buzzing lights.  
Tango sat in the common area beside the armour stands, listening to the buzzing of the LEDs. Every so often- just barely heard behind the sound- a shout, or laugh from BDubs travelled through the stone echo chambers of corridors. His leg bounced, but against the fake grass, there was no sound.  
That was, until the rising reverbs of footsteps. At first, Tango thought it was in his head- the blood thumping in his ears. As it got closer, however, he started unintentionally rocking side to side- as if he was trying to get the sound out of his head. It didn’t work. Eventually, TFC entered into the garden and sat on the grass opposite.

“Hello, Tango.” He said, a soft smile on his face.

“Hi.” Tango smiled back, looking at TFC- but he wasn’t looking. His eyes were glazed over.

“What’s going on in that head of yours? You look more than spaced out.”

“Hm? Oh… nothing much. Typical anxious-scary-monster-thought-extravaganza, you know how it is!”

TFC laughed, leaning back and putting a bag down on the floor beside him. He opened it and threw an apple to Tango, who barely managed to fumble a catch.

“Yeah. Do you want to talk about it?” He took a bite from a second apple.

“No.” Tango immediately said, turning away. He wiped the apple with his thumb, looking at the red shine.

The fluorescent buzzing returned- cut only by BDubs’ laughs- and began to grate in Tango’s ears. He had been listening to it for so long that he was beginning to wonder if the buzzing was actually real, or whether he was imagining it. It almost seemed as if he was in a dream- one of those nightmares where you’re sent to the backrooms of the world, left to wander and listen to the same old buzzing over and over and over and over and over and over and-

“Yeah, actually.” He admitted, a sheepish look on his face, “If you… don’t mind.”

“Of course not, go ahead. I’m happy to listen, Tango.”

“I’m freaking out a little bit. Actually a lot. I’m really confused because Xisuma has mentioned multiple times about the Demon eating the world, and it freaks me out because no one seems to be scared about that?” He seemed unsure of what he was saying, almost as if he wasn’t certain of his own feelings, “Like… I feel like they’re all pretending they’re not scared to make me feel better because I caused this-”

“Tango, slow down.” TFC muttered, an eyebrow raised, “This is not your fault. You didn’t cause this.”

“But I was the one who didn’t tell everyone about my magic. I was the one who did nothing to stop the Demon from possessing me. I was the one that led it to the book. How isn’t this my fault?” The phrase wasn’t meant maliciously, he was simply confused beyond belief, and it manifested in him accidentally punching his thumb through the apple.

“It wasn’t just your fault, I was going to say.” TFC stood, motioning his head for Tango to follow as he walked- which he did, “It was Cub’s fault for assuming you still had the magic contract. It was Scar’s fault, for losing the key; it was Xisuma’s fault for not taking a quicker approach. It was Doc’s fault for travelling alone; it was Impulse’s fault for making a deal with the Demon- heck it was even Ren’s fault: for getting to the swamp in the first place!” 

They made their way down the corridors towards the medical room, the buzzing lights following them, albeit concealed behind the conversation. Tango lingered on the comment about Impulse, wincing as he remembered.  
“Half the server’s to blame!” TFC laughed, walking a stride ahead of his companion, “You can blame only yourself and feel awful, or you can understand that just because you played a part in it, doesn’t mean you’re the sole cause. Everyone makes mistakes. It happens. We wouldn’t be humans if not. The point of our humanity is to live, learn, adapt, and make mistakes. Without the mistakes we’d never move forward.”

“Wow…” Tango chuckled, “I mean, I still feel awful for what I did, but that makes me feel quite a bit better.”

“Feeling bad about it is also part of the process. No remorse- no want to improve. You feeling bad just proves your want and need to improve from this.”

Tango smiled to himself, and they walked in silence. The fluorescent lights buzzed, but Tango had become used to them, and they didn’t bother him so much. He instead focused on the sound of footsteps, the sound of moving forward.

Moving forward.


	29. False Attacks

Stress shook her head.

“No, I ain’t seen no Demon, or no Impulse around here! No one’s come round here for ages!” She exclaimed, shovelling ice as she spoke to Xisuma.

“Don’t think you want anyone coming around at the moment, to be honest.” Xisuma laughed, nervously running his hands through his hair- the helmet in his hands.

“Is it really that bad? Gosh, X, I didn’t realise.”

“Nothing too big… just… a risk of the world being… eaten.”

“What?” Stress paused, slipping on the ice slightly, “Eaten…?”

Xisuma slowly nodded, his face locked in an expression of bewilderment.

“Xisuma, you can’t just say that and expect me to not ask you what you mean. Sit down, love, and tell me what’s going on.” She raised an eyebrow, sitting cross legged on the ice.

Xisuma still wasn’t sure how she could tolerate the cold against her bare legs- he could barely take it with his armour on- but he sat down regardless. She smiled, waiting patiently.

“You know what the swamp was like, right?” She nodded.

“Bloody and horrible in every way?” Stress shrugged. Xisuma nodded.

“Yeah. Well the Demon had ‘eaten’ that biome. When it eats something, it basically consumes all the happiness and nature and replaces it with… gore.” He winced, “If it were to eat the world, Hermitcraft would be nothing more than a mess of flesh and blood.”

“And the Hermits?”

“They’d be turned inside out. Walking zombies.”

Stress frowned.

“And not the good type.” Xisuma elaborated, keeping Cleo in mind.

“That… doesn’t sound good.”

“Yeah, it’s… not the best.” He winced, “Listen, Stress. If you ever feel like someone’s here- even if it’s just a hunch- message me immediately. We can’t take chances and have another BDubs situation.”

“BDubs situation?” Stress asked, confused.

“Oh- don’t worry, don’t worry.” He muttered, turning away.

_ One down, two to go. _

\--------

“GRIAN?” Scar called out, giving the Chest Monster a side eye as he called out. He was unsettled by the eyes of the monster, “This is… this is like meeting a long lost relative!”

He heard the sound of Elytra from behind him, but couldn’t break the gaze with the build.

“S-Scar?” Grian burst out in giggles, approaching his friend.

“It’s like… a weeping… angel…” Scar smirked, “I can’t… stop… looking…”

Eventually, however, he burst into quiet laughter and sniggers, and turned to look at Grian. He was as usual- sly grin, squinted eyes, cracked glasses. Looking at him almost erased all memory of the problems plaguing the server.

“Hey Scar! Sorry I wasn’t here, Mumbo was having a bit of a problem with the whole broken arm thing.”

“It’s cool!”

“What can I do for you?” Grian smirked, jokingly folding his arms in a way that reminded Scar of Doc.

Scar opened his mouth to say something, but recoiled and looked away as his mind drifted. He remained that way for a few seconds, before Grian poked him back to concentration.

“Ah- Impulse!” He nodded, before shaking his head, “No, not Impulse. The Demon.”

“What? Wasn’t Tango possessed?”

“He was… it changed. And it’s… getting more dangerous.” Scar wasn’t usually used to being this serious, and he tried to dance around the subject, “So I’m here… to… protect… you? I don’t think Cub thought this through.”

“Scar. I mean this in the nicest way possible, but you should get to the point.” Grian smiled.

“Right, yeah, yeah.” Scar sheepishly continued, “The Demon is trying to find out where Doc and Ren are by aggressively… asking… By attacking their closest friends and interrogating them for Doc and Ren’s location.”

“Shit…” Grian was taken aback, “That’s cool and all, but I wouldn’t say Doc and I are the closest of friends.”

“Ren, Grian. You’re close to Ren.”

“Oh of course! Jesus Christ, my mind is somewhere else.”

“Have you seen Impulse at all? Around here?” Scar asked.

“No. Haven’t seen him in ages.”

“Hm. Well, cool. If you do… call me? No that doesn’t make sense. Contact Cub, or Iskall. Someone who can fight.” Scar laughed.

The laughing wasn’t humorous. Nothing was humorous. A darkness was falling across the land of Hermitcraft and it was spreading faster than anyone could realise.

_ Two down, one to go. _

\--------

Cub circled around the fairy city, his eyes flicking over the many different arches as he tried to seek out False. The sky was overcast, and the clouds were sending shadows around the fantasy district. Tango’s swirling dragons rose up in the distance, and past that- barely visible over the misty horizon- Ren’s dojo.

The wind whipped in his face, a cold dagger sending shivers down his spine, and tears to his eyes. Frustrated, he wiped them away and continued his search. The atmosphere suddenly got worse, a thin misty rain concealing his vision further. He let out a small huff, shooting through the sky.

It had been about a minute of flying around before he spotted False. She stood by her statue, frozen still and staring. Cub frowned, landing in front of her.

“False, you okay?” He asked, stepping closer.

“Cub, you gotta hide. He’ll be back soon.” She whispered, her eyes looking elsewhere.

“Who?” 

“Impulse. Quick, get behind the statue and say  _ nothing _ !”

Cub opened his mouth to say something, but False flashed a dead serious glance towards him. He silently nodded, rushing behind the statue and peeking out from the bottom.

It only took a few more seconds for the Demon to show up. It still looked exactly like Impulse, were it not for the deep red eyes. It raised an eyebrow, stepping forward to False with a smirk on its face.

“Hey False.” It said.

“Hey Impulse! You rushed off pretty quickly there, is something up?” She talked cheerfully, as if nothing was wrong.

“Nothing much, just had to get something from my Enderchest.” It spoke with Impulse’s voice.

“Cool, cool!” She smiled, “You said you wanted to talk about something, right?”

The Demon’s eyes glinted with malicious intent. Either False didn’t notice, or she was pretending not to. Cub fought the urge to jump out and into conflict, knowing he should trust False, but it was getting harder by the second. She was teetering on the edge of dangerous territory, and Cub wasn’t sure she knew that.

“Yes! I went to visit Zedaph, but he wasn’t at Cub’s Start House, so I’m not sure where he went.”

“Oh yeah, X told me that he’d left with Ren and Doc for some reason. I couldn’t think of why.” She hummed, “I mean, we got Tango back, so the demon must be gone!”

Cub wanted to scream. Xisuma should’ve told all the Hermits the situation down to a T. Had False missed the meeting? Not heard? It didn’t make sense- False wasn’t that… stupid. No, not stupid- naive. Cub lifted his hand to his head in a panic- if she didn’t know, she was in extreme danger.

“Yeah! Xisuma called me earlier- said the threat is over.” The Demon grinned, False seemingly not aware, “The Demon left when they retrieved Tango. It’s brilliant!”

“Wow! Don’t know why Cub and Scar were making such a big deal out of this.” She replied. Cub had to bite his tongue to stop himself from gasping. The worry was growing by the second.

The rain was beginning to clear up, but the clouds still hung low in the sky, and the wind was picking up, sending pebbles and dust skittering against the ground. False wasn’t noticing. It didn’t seem right.

“Me neither! Do you know where… they are? Zedaph, Ren, and Doc, I mean. You’re Ren’s friend, right?”

False raised an eyebrow,

“You’d know that, Impulse? Acting a bit weird here?”

The Demon’s eyes widened,

“Yeah, of course! Mind a bit scrambled, tired…” His voice had a growling undertone, “You know how it is. You’re one of the closest to Ren, so I thought you’d know.”

“I do! Ren visited me before he left!”

The Demon perked up, an eyebrow raised, and the corner of his lip twitching. His eyes were wide open and glazed over in such a way that reminded Cub of dolls' eyes. Horribly glassy, unblinking… terrifying. Cub moved his legs, resolving to step in before False got hurt- but stopped.

She had her hand behind her back, resting on the hilt of her sword. False was pretending.

“Where?” The Demon smirked.

False jumped into an explanation, pointing to the horizon. She procrastinated, throwing in descriptions and opinions as a means to draw out admitting she had no idea. And as soon as the Demon turned to look towards where she was pointing, the flash of diamond glinted in the mist.

She impaled the Demon- plunging her sword straight through its stomach. It let out a cry, freezing.

“Leave us, Demon. You have no place here.” Her voice was bitter.

Pulling the sword out of the Demon and throwing it to the floor, she took a deep breath. The Demon lay on the floor, twitching, and reaching for its wound. It took a few minutes, but…

The Demon fell silent, and stopped moving.

It… stopped.

Cub stepped around the statue, his mouth hanging open. He kept trying to speak, but had no words to say. False turned around, a smile on her face.

“I…” A huff of cold air turned to mist in front of her, “Sorry about that, Cub.”

“False, you-” Cub grinned, “You killed it! You-”

A laugh began to echo out around the stone paths of False’s city.

A haunting laugh, filled with unhinged madness.

One they’d never forget.

False whipped around, her smile gone. On the ground, the hole in the Bloody One’s stomach slowly knotted itself such. The Demon itself was laughing. It slowly stood up, turning around to face the pair.

“Tut tut tut! What a shame!” Its voice was more monstrous, and blood had begun to drip from his eyes, “I thought you were as STUPID as the rest of them, Falsie!”

Almost too quick to notice, the Demon stood up and drew his deep pulsing sword, and carved into False’s leg. She let out a cry, her knee buckling and the blood pouring out almost immediately. It raised the sword again, looking to strike again.

Time seemed to slow down. Cub felt panic completely overtake him as the sword was brought down. He pictured what would happen if False was hit with the deadly sword. He pictured her head falling to the floor, and her body never respawning. He saw False  _ dying. _

And he couldn’t let that happen.

Cub leaped forward, feeling the energy of the Vex shoot forward from his veins and swirling around his sword. He felt the fear manifesting into pure power, and he lifted the blade to block the Demon’s sword. A burst of air shot out from the collision, and Cub- still fuming with rage- swung his blade again. This time, the sword connected into the Demon’s shoulder, and cut deep. It screamed.

Cub spoke, and it was his voice. It was his voice,  _ and  _ it was the Vex’s voice.

Working together, working as one.

“ **Don’t touch her** .”

The Demon’s face twisted.

He was scared.

The Demon took one more look at Cub’s pulsing sword, and pulled back, immediately launching into the air and shooting off into the distance. Blood dripped from its wound onto the ground in front of them. The low hanging clouds seemed to lift higher as the Demon flew away, and Cub turned to False.

“False, I think I know how to kill the Demon.”


	30. A Hole in the World

The sky was overcast, and yet rays of golden sunshine managed to be cast down onto the fields around the trio. It was a strange feeling, being warmed by the rays, yet immediately being cooled to the point of shivering by the biting wind. And yet they continued to work.

Zedaph had, laid out in front of him, the entirety of their Shulker Boxes- 23 in total. He was working vigilantly, transferring all the items from one to the other and assuring everything was organised- even going as far to naming each of them to keep efficiency at its peak.

Ren stood a few metres away from the other two, looking back the way they had come with a pair of binoculars. He scanned the landscape nervously, assuring not to miss any spot and rechecking every spot. Every few minutes or so, he’d launch into the air with his Elytra and circle the perimeter, looking for any sign of life… or danger.

Doc grumbled under his breath, juggling redstone components in his one good hand as he worked. He muttered equations and variables to himself, often losing his place and getting more frustrated by the second. Not having his robotic arm was inhibiting progress greatly.

The trio had travelled- mostly underground- all the way to the North-East world border. Having walked pretty much constantly since Ren and Doc woke up, they’d become weary and could barely stand to continue travelling any more. The border wall stretched up as high as they could see, and pulsed with every breath they made.

They were paranoid. None of them knew what it would mean to be caught by the Demon- and none of them knew  _ why _ they were running, but they were nevertheless. They felt eyes on them, even though logic told them that was impossible. Not even the Hermits knew their plans.

“Doc, are you almost finished?” Ren landed from another perimeter check- right beside the grumbling redstoner.

“You can’t rush perfection, Ren.” Doc smirked, holding a redstone wire in his mouth as he worked, “But seriously, this is hard stuff to do.”

“Right, right. It’s just… I’m getting nervous.” Ren quickly whipped his head around at a sound- which turned out to only be Zedaph dropping a stack of logs, “Are you sure this is gonna work?”

“Not really.” He looked at Ren’s shocked face and let out a chuckle, “I’m never really sure if any of my contraptions are going to work. But that’s never stopped me before, has it?”

Ren slowly nodded, continuing to even as Doc turned away and got back to his work. Zedaph, after a few more minutes of sorting, picked up all the shulker boxes and reconvened with the group.

“Doc, I hate to say it, but… what if this doesn’t work?” He wrapped his arms around himself, “We need a second plan.”

Doc laughed, moving closer to the world border and trailing a redstone line behind him. He placed his hand on the world border, sending a deep red pulse out from the point of contact. He put a lever at the end of the line and took in a deep breath.

“If it doesn’t work, that’s on me. If it does, I’m amazing and you can’t say anything against that.” He smirked. Zedaph and Ren couldn’t help but laugh, and braced themselves.

The redstoner took a deep breath, nodding to his companions and pulling the lever. A booming echo- not unlike that of the Wither’s- sounded out, and the trio watched in awe as the redstone contraption set off a TNT explosion, and simultaneous bursts of light and sounds. It was confusing, and it seemed that nothing was happening, until…

A huge bang sounded, and they looked on as a hole quickly grew in the pulsing blue border. It got bigger and bigger, soon barely big enough for someone to fit through. And that’s when Doc started shouting.

“QUICK! GET THROUGH, NOW!” He yelled, taking his own advice and jumping through the hole.

Ren and Zedaph, sufficiently panicked, followed suit. Zedaph successfully shot through, but Ren managed to stumble, and tripped. He heard Doc’s horrified shouts, and looked outwards to see the hole quickly shutting. 

He leapt up, running as fast as his legs would take him, his eyes completely locked on the closing hole. It was getting too small. He wouldn’t be able to make it through.

And so he jumped.

He launched himself off his feet, jumping  _ through  _ the hole. And into Doc’s arms. He turned around, feeling his foot get caught.

The hole in the World Border was completely shut, besides the fact that Ren’s foot was stuck in there. Doc shouted out once more, 

“ZED, HELP ME PULL! IT’S GONNA TAKE HIS FUCKING FOOT OFF!” 

Zedaph jumped into action, standing behind Doc and wrapping his arms around, holding on to Ren and pulling alongside Doc. It was a few tense seconds of tugging and pulling, but eventually they managed to pull him through the border, and sent his shoe flying off and they all landed in a heap on the ground.

And then they began to laugh.

The stress of the situation quickly drifted away and they fell into fits of laughter, lying on the floor and forgetting where they were running- forgetting  _ why _ they were running. For just a moment, everything was normal again. The contraption they used exploded. Doc grinned, happy that everything had gone to plan.

Ren was the first to stand, stumbling with only one shoe. He looked around, disbelief setting in. They had travelled through the world border.  _ They had travelled through the world border! _ They’d only gone and gone the impossible! He reached a hand to his head, thinking.

_ Fear can make people do anything. _

He paused, remembering.

Remembering why they did that.

Why they were running.

“Doc.” He said, his voice not heard over their laughter. He repeated himself, “Doc!”

“Y-Yeah, Ren?” Doc was still smiling.

“If we can get through the border, can’t the Demon?”

Silence.

“No.” Doc whispered, “Not even Gods could do that.”

“But we did.”

“Whatever that Demon is, I’m 99% sure it doesn’t know how to do what I just did. Let alone even think to do it. I can promise you we’re safe.”

“As much as I trust you, Doc- and I always have- in this case, I don’t think 99% sure is good enough in this case.”

“I know. But it’s the best we’ve got until the others figure out how to get rid of the Demon and save Tango.” 

At that moment, Zedaph scooted back, sending dirt kicking up. He stood up.

“Impulse.” He said bluntly. 

“What?” Ren asked, throat hoarse. Zedaph stood, his eyes puffy, and took out his communicator.

“Xisuma has been sending out messages to everyone updating them on the situation. Around the same time you guys woke up, the Demon was confronted by Cub, Scar, and X. It moved from Tango’s body to Impulse’s. Tango is… relatively speaking… okay.” He frowned, “I don’t know about Impulse, though.”

“So you didn’t want to tell us this?” Doc asked, voice quiet.

“It’s not easy to talk about your two bestest friends being possessed by Demons, Doc.”

“Right, right, sorry.”

Zedaph frowned, nervously squinting and turning away. Ren put his hand on his shoulder, frowning.

“It’s okay Zed. It’ll be okay.”


	31. To Kill a Demon

It didn’t take long for Xisuma and Scar to arrive at False’s base after the message was sent out. Cub sat beside False, tending to her wound and vigilantly watching the sky. Scar landed first, concern on his face.

“Where’s the Bloody One now? Are we safe?” He asked.

“Yeah, yeah! Just… a bit of a scratch to show from it.” False smiled as Cub finished wrapping a bandage around her leg.

Xisuma landed beside the group, taking his helmet off and looking around for any sign of the Demon. He nodded to himself, and stepped forward.

“What happened? Why did you call us here?” He asked, “Shit, it hasn’t found out where Ren and Doc are, right?”

“No, no. Not Tango either. But…” Cub stood up, taking in a deep breath, “I think I know how to kill the Demon. Forever, I mean.”

“What?” Xisuma stepped forward, a smile growing on his face, “You better not be kidding.”

“No, no.” Cub nervously rubbed his hands together, “I… I scared off the Demon.”

Xisuma took a step back, his face once again crossed with utter confusion. 

“For the love of the Void, Cub. If you keep telling me in snippets, I’m gonna have a heart attack!” He smiled, “Look, just tell me what happened. Right from the beginning.”

“Well… In the beginning, there was… nothing. Then the-” Cub paused at the joke, but when no one laughed, he looked over to False. She nodded in understanding.

As she began to explain, Xisuma and Scar sat down on the cold stone, leaving only Cub standing. False took them through what had happened- even before Cub had arrived. She told them all about how the Demon had been stalking her all day, and she’d been pretending not to notice. It had been a few hours before it finally showed itself, and she’d continued to play dumb- hoping that the Demon wouldn’t immediately resort to violence.

And to her advantage, the Demon was also playing the pretending game. They had talked for a few minutes before Cub had appeared, and at that point, the Bloody One had shot off into the air and flown away. False’s only bet was to bring it back, to assure it didn’t hurt anyone else.

“False, let me get this straight.” Scar said, his voice quiet, “You lured the Demon back, and put yourself potentially in danger… to make sure no one else got hurt?”

She smiled, drawing her hands around her legs,

“Well when you put it like that it makes me seem like a hero!” She laughed, “It wasn’t really a conscious decision, I just told Cub to hide and things… went on from there.”

“What did… go on from there. What happened afterwards?” Scar cocked his head as he asked.

“Well, when Cub hid, the Bloody One returned, and must’ve assumed he’d left. So we began talking. And… it was really creepy. I dunno what it was about the Demon that scared me, but it was… unsettling.”

“The eyes,” Cub suggested, still not feeling enough comfort to sit down, “All… glassy. Like there was no one behind them.”

Silence fell, the only sound being the wind creating a whistling melody as it passed through distant wind chimes and bells. Xisuma was the first to speak again, his voice barely a whisper above the ringing of the wind.

“I… What…” He sighed, clearly thinking about the phrasing carefully, “What must it be like for Impulse?”

“Well… For Tango, and… when the Vex has… borrowed my body, it’s like taking a backseat. You can see and hear, but can’t control your body.” Cub shrugged.

“I never remember what happened after I get possessed.” Scar shrugged, rubbing his neck nervously.

“Well yeah, you have a lower tolerance to… magic…” Cub frowned, “And if someone like Impulse, who has had no experience with magic, then…”

“What?”

“He must be feeling… nothing. As far as we’re aware, he’s… gone. For now, at least. Which means-”

“Which means what?” False butted in, bringing her hand to her leg and wincing as she strained the wound.

“Which means we have to save Impulse before he can’t be retrieved.”

Xisuma’s leg bounced up and down as he thought. The cogs turning in his head were almost visible, as he chewed on his lip whilst thinking. His gloves had begun to wear thin due to his constant rubbing of his hands to vent confusion.

“Cub, you said you think you know how to kill The Bloody One, right? Please indulge us.”

“Yeah, right.” Cub nodded, drawing his sword and placing it on the floor, “After False tricked the Demon into looking away, she stabbed it. It pretended to be dead, but within about 2 minutes the hole in its stomach had healed completely. It can’t be harmed by normal weapons.” He stopped for reactions, but when no one said anything, he continued,

“It struck False with its sword. You know the one- can’t be healed through potions, or respawning.” The others nodded, “And went to strike again. Went to… finish it. And I must’ve gotten so angry that the Vex possessed me. My sword was enchanted with… Vex magic, I think. And when I struck the Demon, the wound didn’t heal. The Bloody One looked scared. I think… I think we need to fight fire with fire.”

“Destroy the Demon’s magic through… magic.”

“Cub and I have tried that.” Scar muttered, moving his legs up to his chest, “It didn’t work with just Vex Magic.”

“Then we’ll use more magic. Enchant the weapons with both Vex Magic and Void Magic! Overkill.”

“It won’t work.” Something was clearly wrong.

Scar was looking straight at the ground, his hands clenched together so hard that his knuckles were turning white. His leg was shaking, and although his breathing was level, his chest was heaving as if he was struggling.

“Scar, we agreed not to lie to each other.” Cub said softly, “Please, tell us.”

It took a few moments, but Scar reached into his pockets, retrieving a sheet of paper. He held it up towards Cub without looking, his arm shaking in the air.

“I took it when you first told me to stop doing Blood Magic.” His voice was quiet, “I didn’t want to stop, and I thought you were gonna try to kill the Demon.”

“ _ What _ ?” Cub’s tone turned sharp.

“I took the page in the spellbook. I took the page about killing the Demon because I didn’t want to stop doing my blood magic; and I know you’ll be mad about but-”

“No.” Cub crouched down, a smile reappearing on his face, “No, Scar. I could never be mad at you. And besides, you’ve just given us the info we need to defeat the Demon.”

With a hand still resting on Scar’s knee, Cub carefully unfolded the page, smoothing out the crinkles and reading aloud- paraphrasing as he went along.

“To kill a demon, you need to draw on three different magic energies.” He smiled, “Fight fire with fire… A demon can only be killed by someone who has been possessed…”

“What? Why?” Xisuma asked.

“The only thing powerful enough to kill a demon to kill a demon is a demon, I guess…”

“Scar, that means you can fight The Bloody One, right?”

Scar recoiled slightly, his eyes wide. He raised an eyebrow, lifting his head.

“No. Cub and I were never unwillingly possessed by the Demon. The only people who could kill The Bloody One at the moment are Ren, Doc, and Tango.”

“So we’ve got to first choose who’s going to kill it, and then have them head into battle with something that could permanently kill them?” False asked, her eyes slowly crossing over each person in her presence.

“Not quite.” Cub continued reading, “A single sword can only be enchanted with the power of  _ one _ magical entity at a time. So we need Ren, Doc,  _ and _ Tango to face danger.”

There was silence. 

“We don’t even know where Ren and Doc are.”

“Well I suppose that’s the next course of action, then.”


	32. Can’t Go Back

Doc stood, looking up at the house that had quickly been erected. His eyebrows were furrowed, and his mouth hung open in disbelief, completely boggled and unsure what to say. The world border pulsed behind him. 

One thing he’d found out whilst working behind the border was that the sound was wrong. He couldn’t explain it, just… muffled, and slightly off. Like… you could hear clicks of static electricity at every consonant, and the S’s seemed to drag, like a snake. He just couldn’t get used to it.

And of course, it had taken a few days, but Doc had finally gotten used to the red tint that covered his vision, pulsing around the edges. It had often occurred to him in the time behind the border that the red haze was pretty much the ‘rose tinted’ glasses expression- apart from the fact that he was completely worry-stricken. Not rose tinted at all.

And so, he looked up at the house, built whilst he was away mining. And he was confused.

He instinctively reached to his right arm, but for the upteenth time reminded him of the lack of robot arm. It was a painful reminder each time, and he was mildly infuriated that no one thought to craft him a new one whilst he was in his coma. But putting his needs first at that exact point in time was something he didn’t want to. Things were dangerous enough already.

The house itself was a simple two story rustic build- taking clear inspiration from BDubs, but also having a flare of Ren’s building style within it. Conspicuous, big, easily seen. Even the wildgrass around the house had been tamed into a crop garden.

One of the second story windows opened, and the warm, red figure of Ren leant out, a smile on his face, and his sunglasses resting on his head. He was leaning out further by the second, and Doc found his face twisting into concern.

“Hey Doc!” Ren waved, as if being fifteen feet away was far enough to not be seen, “How d’you like the house? Zedaph and I thought we’d make it a bit more-”

“Ren, what’re you doing?”

“I’m… hanging out the window…” 

“Why have you built a massive house that is  _ very _ visible from outside the border? If someone’s looking for us, we’re dead meat!”

Ren frowned, his eyebrows pointing upwards in a sad expression.

“Well… we don’t know how long we’re gonna be here, so i thought I’d make it more comfortable.”

“We can be comfortable underground, Ren!”

“Do you not like it?” Ren pulled a puppy dog face, keeping eye contact with Doc.

Doc couldn’t help but to smile, and quickly tried to frown the laughter out.

“Ren, I swear…” He let out a long burst of air from his nose, covering his smile with his hand.

Ren sadly smiled, jumping from the window and letting his Elytra carry him to the ground. Without any further words, he walked towards him and brought Doc into a tight hug.

“Wh- what are you doing?” Doc laughed, a certain tone to his voice that betrayed his happiness.

“Doc. You’re worrying.”

“Wh-”

“I can tell.” Ren interrupted, refusing to release his friend from the hug, “So don’t pretend you aren’t. Talk to me.”

Doc managed to pull away, the corner of his mouth still upturned in a smile that his eyes didn’t reciprocate. Ren didn’t smile- in fact, he just looked into Doc’s eyes. No words, no emotions, nothing. He just kept his hand on his friend’’s shoulder, stroking with his thumb.

“Ren, you’re scaring me, man.”

“Am I?” Ren whispered quietly, “Doc, you’re freaking out because we built a house. You’re worried.”

“I’m realistic. If the demon sees this house, we’re dead.”

“You said it yourself- not even gods can get through. We’re okay, I promise.”

“That’s fine and all,” Doc shrugged, turning his face to the side, “But it’s just…”

“You can say whatever you need to say, I’m not gonna judge you.”

“Are we ever gonna go back?”

The question lingered in the air. Usually, Ren would be the type to ask that type of question, so the roles reversing threw him off a bit, and he couldn’t help pouting at hearing the question that he had stuck in his head said out loud. His arm fell limp, his hand falling off of Doc’s shoulder.

There it was again- the sound muffling slightly. A distant echo of Zedaph swearing from dropping something, warped with static electricity and red. It was strange how they all heard it. The tinted red sounds. Before that, they would’ve never believed a colour would have a sound, but it’s not like the past few months had been grounded in reality. Nothing could surprise them any more.

Doc looked Ren up and down subconsciously, his face falling. The lack of his right arm suddenly ached all the more, and all he wanted to do was to take Ren’s hands in his and tell him they were gonna be fine. He knew from experience that it was hard to convince yourself of a lie.

And so he didn’t. He stepped back, took a deep breath in, and looked back at Ren. But before he could say anything, Ren butted in.

“I don’t know.” He ran his hand through his hand, almost undoing the ponytail in the stress, “But what I do know is that the others aren’t gonna stop fighting. Fighting for  _ us _ . And when they’re ready, we’ll come back to them.”

Doc laughed.

“You’re speaking a load of crap, Ren. You always do.” 

“I had the best teacher.” 

“Oh and who would that be?”

“I couldn’t imagine.” Ren’s grin had returned, and although his eyes were sad, there was a glimmer of hope behind them.

There was a loud noise from the door, and Zedaph came bursting through holding something under a greasy banner. He held it up with a soot covering his face, and pronounced a ‘huzzah!’.

“I did it! The legendary inventor has done it again!” He proclaimed, sending laughs to his two companions.

“Do you ever make sense?” Doc asked, raising an eyebrow.

“No!” Zedaph pointed an accusatory finger, smirking at the joke.

“What has the… legendary inventor done, exactly?” Ren asked, folding his arms and standing back.

Zedaph was struggling to keep his grin subdued, and it looked more like a grimace at that point. His eyes were wide open, excited as he pulled the banner away, exposing what he was holding.

It was an arm. Not human, however- it was crafted from scraps of metal and wood, and although the fingers were very chunky, they seemed to be very articulate. Brown leather straps hung down from the metal shoulder plate, and painful looking needles covered the inside surface of the shoulder opening.

Ren frowned and raised an eyebrow,

“What is tha-”

“Holy crap, Zedaph, how on Earth did you do that?” Doc cut in, stepping forward with awe crossing his face.

Zedaph smiled, trying to wipe some of the soot from his cheek, instead smearing more oil from his hands on his face. He held the handcrafted arm out, and Doc daintily reached his hand out.

“Well… I’ve had this plan for ages. A plan for the next season. I wanna make contraptions, or something, so I’ve been… practising making things, and he’s one of them!” He grinned, “I think it should work okay- it’s better than nothing.”

Doc nodded quietly, looking up to Zedaph and back down. The silence perpetuated, and Ren watched as they began to equip the arm.

It was definitely makeshift- the leather straps keeping it fastened wrapped from the shoulder plate around his neck, and three came around his chest and waist. Even then, it was still quite loose, the straps moving around. Without any warning, Zedaph jolted the arm into place, the tiny needles slipping into Doc’s shoulder- who let out a short cry of pain, before moving his good arm to his face and groaning into his hand.

“Could’ve warned me before you did that.” He managed to splutter.

Zedaph sheepishly laughed, taking a step back. The muffled, buzzing silence returned, and all eyes were on Doc. 

He took a deep breath, and the metal arm clenched its fist. A grin quickly crawled onto his face, and he moved the arm around. It was a bit clunky compared to his old arm, but worked all the same in the long term. He looked back up to Zedaph, before quickly embracing him.

“Zedaph, you’re a genius!” He tightly squeezed, gaining a wheeze from the victim.

“I know, right! Smartest one on the server!” He gasped.

Doc pulled away, a lopsided smile on his face, and looked up at the house. His eyebrows tilted back, and he took a deep breath in.

“If we’re gonna spend a long time here, we might as well make it sustainable.”


	33. Encrypted, Decrypted, Crypted

**Xisuma: Zedaph, are you there?**

**Xisuma: Your communicator hasn’t broken too, has it?**

**Xisuma: …**

**Xisuma: Zedaph?**

**Tango: Zed?**

**Grian: call me pessimistic**

**Grian: but i don’t think he’s there**

**iskall85: why don’t you check the status of the communicators**

**iskall85: you can do that, right, X?**

**Xisuma: yeah gimme a moment**

**Tango: why do you need to contact him anyway…?**

**GoodTimeWithScar: can’t say, demon could be reading**

**ImpulseSV: oh yes, wouldn’t that be a disaster!**

**Tango: fuck off, demon.**

**ImpulseSV: make me.**

Scar looked up from his communicator. It had been a week since the incident with False. Xisuma, Cub, Scar, and Tango (desperate to help), had been searching day and night for any clues towards the whereabouts of Ren, Doc, and Zedaph. And yet there appeared to be nothing. No trails, no clues, not one word. Considering Doc was travelling with them, however, it wasn’t too out of the ordinary to assume there had been server manipulation to hide their steps.

And yet they continued to search. Grasping at paper straws, and desperately attempting to find clues from… arguably nothing. Time was wearing short. More Hermits had been contacted by the Demon, though luckily none had been harmed. False and BDubs’ wounds had begun to heal, and despite the lingering problems, things had calmed down.

**Xisuma: ren and doc’s communicators are completely gone.**

**Tango: and Zedaphs?**

**Xisuma: active.**

**Tango: Zed you there? Are you reading this?**

**Tango: anything?**

**Tango: no?**

Scar once again looked up, doing it so fast he felt a crick in his neck. There was an unnerving silence in Xisuma’s base. Cub laboured over stacks and stacks of maps; Xisuma was engrossed in admin commands, and Scar? Scar was thinking. If he was Doc, where would he go?

The darkness felt oppressive. It had come down to Cub, Xisuma, and Scar, and yet Scar didn’t feel confident they were getting anywhere. They were at their last option-  _ asking  _ Zedaph in plain reading view of the Demon- where he was.

**ImpulseSV: what a shame! It appears your friend doesn’t want to talk to you**

**ImpulseSV: maybe he’s dead.**

And yet something was spinning in Scar’s mind. He hadn’t been able to sleep- that much had been brewing for quite some time- but, each night he lay with the thoughts consuming his every being, something was coming closer. He knew if just… kept thinking, he would work it out.

**Zedaph: sorry, zedaphs working**

**Zedaph: doc here**

**Xisuma: hey Doc, you good?**

**Zedaph: yeah, we’re all safe, if that’s what you mean**

**Xisuma: cool**

**GoodTimeWithScar: we need to talk to you**

**GoodTimeWithScar: Maybe meet up?**

**Zedaph: we can’t meet up, out of the question**

**GoodTimeWithScar: right, right**

**Zedaph: cant stay too long, dont wanna risk being tracked**

**Xisuma: Communicator’s can’t be tracked**

**Zedaph: you never know the limits of the world, X.**

**Zedaph: my raid farm itself is an example of that.**

Scar began to read the messages over and over, unable to believe that it was actually Doc speaking. A few moments later, and Xisuma cried out, throwing his helmet to the floor and wincing.

“Xisuma, you okay?” Scar rushed over, nervous to get closer to people who could protect him.

“Yeah, yeah. I was looking at information about Zedaph’s communicator, and it got destroyed. I was tuned into the device, and it sent out this horrible noise into my ears.” He laughed.

“Does it… usually do that?” Scar asked.

Confusion crossed Xisuma’s face, and he picked his helmet back up, tilting it to look inside. Words crossed his lips, but he never spoke them aloud. The silent muttering lasted a few seconds, before he looked back up.

“...Come to think of it, no. It should just… go dead.”

“Can you replay the message?”

“Perhaps.” Xisuma pouted, reaching his hand into the helmet and rummaging around. It reappeared holding a few wires, and after a moment of tearing out plugs and reattaching elsewhere, a horrific squealing burst through the speakers. 

Scar and Xisuma covered their ears, the screeching still very much grating at their ears. Cub turned towards the pair, his eyes squinted and mouth hanging slightly agape. After a few seconds, the sound stopped.

“What on Earth was that?” Scar winced, “That is anything BUT silence.”

Cub slowly made his way over, taking Xisuma’s helmet to little protest. He looked at his companions.

“That’s  _ something _ , is what it is.” A smirk was growing on his face.

“Well, yeah. Something awful.” Xisuma chuckled.

“Scar, you really should recognise this.” Cub smiled, “Doc used it back in Area 77 to encrypt messages.”

“Oh? OH!” Scar exclaimed, “Ren, Grian, and Impulse never caught on! If Impulse never caught on, then maybe the Demon in his body won’t…”

Cub nodded,

“I can remove the encryption, repair the sound, just give me a few minutes.”

The other two just nodded, standing back and watching. They’d often seen Cub working on contraptions- whether it be in ConCorp, or around the server- and yet it never ceased to amaze them.

Cub had a very specific way of working. He’d stand with his legs apart and feet turned in, and posture hunched over. After setting out his tasks in his head, he would shut his right eye and begin working- tongue sticking out. You would be able to tell when he’d finished, as he’d shut his left eye, and open his right. There was no rhyme or reason for what he did, he just did. Claimed it helped him work.

By the time he swapped his closed eye to the left, Scar had inched his way so close that he was peering over Cub’s shoulder, looking at his friend nimbly fiddling with the wires in Xisuma’s helmet. And when Cub had finished, he held the helmet up with a triumphant gaze, and clicked a button. The sound once again burst out.

This time, however, there was a voice amongst the grating high pitched screeches.

“ **Y** ou never know the limits of the world, X. My raid farm itself is an example of that.” It barely squeaked through.

Xisuma frowned,

“It’s just a repeat of the messages he sent.” He muttered, “It’s not a clue at all. Maybe Doc truly doesn’t want us to find him.”

Scar stroked his chin, deep in thought. His mind once again was running at 100 miles per hour, thinking of every moment he’d spend with Doc. Everything he knew about his friend, and everything he assumed. And it clicked. He slowly shook his head, considering the options- but deep down he knew there was truly only one way to find Doc; and it was to try  _ everything _ .

“What if the words are the clues?” He asked quietly, “And that’s why Doc repeated them.”

“They don’t sound like clues to me.” Xisuma sighed softly, “But Scar, please carry on. We need to take everything we’ve got at this point.”

“Never know the limits of the world. He’s gotta be manipulating the laws of science again. Somewhere you’re not supposed to go.” He hummed, “And I bet we can find it out at the Raid Farm.”

And they immediately set off.

\--------

Scar was the first to land underneath the looming mothership, immediately bursting into a spree of searching. The contraptions sprawled around in messy piles spurred on a bittersweet pang of nostalgia in his mind, and suddenly the lack of Doc seemed all the more painful.

Xisuma and Cub landed next, also gazing around in an attempt to find anything out of the ordinary- though to them, everything within Area 77 seemed to be a complete enigma. The blocks that shouldn’t be there, the aura of weirdness, the infinity portal- all fuel for the flame of confusion. 

Whilst Scar dipped and dove his way under the floating pistons; and Xisuma scanned the area for life forms; Cub made his way over to a chest monster nearby. There were many chests lying around, as well as multiple grindstones, crafting tables, shulkers, and even a lectern. Cub smirked, picking up the book from the lectern and beginning to read aloud jokingly.

“Research into optimising contraptions. Contraption #1: Ilmango flower farm. Contraption #2: Raysworks raid farm. Contraption #3: ImpulseSV villager breeder.” Cub paused, “Man Doc really knows how to write a riveting book of ideas. Contraption #4: ERICOD NE world border breaker. Contraptio-”

“What did you say?” Scar froze in his tracks, turning around and quickly returning to the pair.

“Uh… Doc really knows how to write a riveting book…?”

“No, no, contraption four.”

“Oh! ERICOD NE world border breaker.” Cub shrugged, “I have never heard of anyone called ERICOD NE. Is he a part of the Scicraft server? Or one of Mango’s friends?”

“Doc, you glorious bastard.” Scar grinned.

“Are you okay there Scar?” Xisuma raised an eyebrow.

“ERICOD. It was a code Doc and I used when Area 77 was up and running.  _ Escape Route In Case Of Danger. _ ”

“It’s a message? To us?”

“Probably not. He wouldn’t be stupid enough to dawdle- not whilst being hunted.” Scar looked at the book over Cub’s shoulder, “But I bet he sent us here because he knew this book was here. He knew this clue would be here for us to find.”

“That’s fine, but the world border is massive. If Doc could bust through it, we have no idea of where.” Cub shrugged.

Scar’s face fell, and he frowned. It seemed his plan had gone awry, and the hope was almost instantly splitting away from his body. That was, until Xisuma spoke.

“ERICOD NE. NE.” He muttered, “North East.”

“They’re at the North East world border.”


	34. I Wouldn’t Be Surprised.

Scar flew alone.

They had decided there would be a higher chance of convincing Doc, Ren, and Zedaph to come home if it was only him. Whether or not that was true, he had no idea, but it was the only option they had. And so he flew alone.

They had gone far enough as to cut off contact with Scar until he returned. He felt strange not having his communicator in his pocket- he had forgotten how it felt to be completely off the grid. It wasn’t a completely good feeling. Knowing no one would be able to come to his aid in the event of danger wasn’t very reassuring. Though nothing on the server was reassuring at that point- only the empty hope of winning against a demon.

Every little noise startled him. Every bird cry sounded suspiciously like a scream; every click of his elytra sounded identical to an arrow firing; every shift of the earth was more like an echo of bludgeoning through the bones. And yet he flew on.

Scar hadn’t slept since he had set off some three days ago. The effects of the sleep deprivation were setting in- his head felt fuzzy, and vision was blurring; he was feeling low and depressed- irritable, even; and he kept falling into yawning fits. And whilst it was definitely hurting his health directly, he didn’t intend on stopping. Not until he had brought Doc, Ren, and Zedaph back to the main server area.

His intentions were set and the strength in his chest was assuring nothing was going to stop him. No fear, no sleep deprivation, no Demon. Yes, he had been weak in the past. He had struggled to keep afloat in the face of danger, and nothing had changed in him. He was still terrified- completely and utterly fear-stricken. Nothing had changed besides his determination.

It was certain- Scar knew this- that he would crack under pressure, but this time he was prepared for it. Inevitable or not, he didn’t care. His feelings didn’t matter at that point. Only retrieving his friends did.

Far away, just coming into view in the distance, the world border stretched up as far as the eye could see. Scar landed, deciding to walk the rest of the way. And as he slowly approached the world border, he couldn’t help to smile as the house appeared behind his border.

And better still, he felt the warm presence of hope appear as he saw Doc walk out of the house and into the garden, tending to the flowers. He smiled. As much as Doc tried to deny it, Scar knew he loved gardening.

Scar stepped up to the world border, watching as Doc busied himself with the garden- repotting flowers and happily bustling about.

“Doc.” Scar spoke aloud. He watched his friend straighten up and look around, before shaking his head and returning to gardening.

“Doc!” Scar repeated.

Doc turns around, his face fearful. The terror melted away when he met eyes with Scar, quickly jogging over to the world border.

“Thank God, Scar!” He grinned, “I thought my message went over your head.”

“Nothing gets past me.”

“Not even people breaking into Area 77?” He smirked.

“Hey, that was Captain Angry Eyes, not me!” Scar joked, slowly stepping closer.

“You… needed to see me, didn’t you?” Doc took a step back.

“Yeah. We… we need you and Ren to come back.”

Doc raised an eyebrow,

“It must be related to the Demon, I’m assuming. Zedaph isn’t needed?”

“Not for what we need, but I don’t want to leave him alone out here. We have no idea what’s outside the border.”

“Hm…” Doc stepped away, suspicion crossing his face, “Right.”

“We know how to kill the Demon.”

The sound was somewhat muffled through the border, but Scar still heard the sound of Doc tutting. He stepped back, the blue of the pulsing energy distorting his face. And then he began to laugh, and he turned away.

“Sure you do.” His voice was venomous.

“We do! Just let me through the border and I can-”

Doc began to howl with laughter, leaning his head back and squinting his eyes shut. Scar frowned, feeling hurt as his friend mocked his request with fits of childish cackling. His face fell, and yet Doc continued to entertain himself.

“...Doc?” Scar squeaked, taking a step closer to the border.

“Are you fucking kidding me with that crap?” He spat, his voice with undertones dark and threatening, “I thought Demons were supposed to be smart.  _ Asking  _ me to just… let you through to me? I can see through that shit in an instant.”

“Doc, I’m not the Demon. This is serious.”

“And I’m serious in not believing you.” He stopped laughing, and the seriousness in his tone was terrifying, “I’m not taking any chances.”

Scar’s voice was less than a whisper. He didn’t understand, and his anger was getting worse by the second. Scar didn’t usually get angry, but there was something about Doc’s hard exterior that was driving him to fury. And yet he pushed the feelings away, and stepped forward. He placed his left hand against the border, feeling a buzz of electricity shoot through his body, and looked into Doc’s eyes.

“I know you’re not an asshole, Doc.” Scar said, his voice shaking with rage, “Trust me.”

“Really? You’re still trying this crap? I-”

_ “Trust me, Doc.” _

Doc stepped forward slowly, his face locked in a grumpy expression. His eyes were softening, but his hard stare was as threatening as ever. But still, he stepped forward, lifting his robotic hand and pressing it on the same place as Scar’s, with the border in between them both.

Although the border blocked true contact, Scar could still feel the cold metal pressing against his palm. He looked into Doc’s eyes, tears threatening to fall, and hissed his last ditch attempt at convincing.

“Stay here, and you risk killing Impulse and everyone else on the server. If you want that sure, go ahead, I wouldn’t be surprised.”

Doc recoiled, hurt crossing his face. He pulled his arms into himself, and backed away. Although Doc liked to present himself as an intimidating foe, Scar knew he hated actually being accused of being at odds with his friends.

“You… wouldn’t be surprised?” He asked, unnaturally timid, “I-... No.”

Scar immediately felt guilt creep in, watching his friend seem so uncharacteristically and truthfully hurt, and he couldn’t help but step forward, so distracted he walked into the border.

“Doc- no, I didn’t mean that. Ah sorry, I messed up bad.” He pressed his face against the pulsing wall, muttering, “Please forgive me I didn't mean to-”

Doc sadly smiled,

“A Demon could never be like you, Scar.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Okay.” Doc ignored the comment, and moved on, “You said you know how to kill The Bloody One? And you… what, need us for that?”

“Yeah. You and Ren have bits of The Bloody One left in you from the possession. Which means you’re the only ones who can hurt it- along with Tango.” Scar laughed, nervously persisting.

“Right. Is it safe back there?” He raised an eyebrow.

“Not exactly. If we can get you safely in, though, you should be fine.”

“Hmm… right. We travelled here mostly underground, so that’s our best bet back. Don’t wanna fly in and get TKO’d immediately.”

“How long will that take? Do we have the time for that?”

“30 hours, give or take the effort you put in. We can use the same tunnel.”

“Yeah…” Scar said, “Doc, I’m sorry about what I said. I didn’t-”

“It’s fine, Scar, really. I wouldn’t be surprised if people thought of me like that.” He winced, “I am the ‘evil doctor’ after all…”


	35. Only Demons and Ancients

TFC’s base had been overly bustling compared to what it usually was, with the added presence of BDubs, Tango, and more recently, False. He certainly loved having more company- as hard as it was to get used to the constant increase of noise that came with more people. They sat in the communal area, looking up at the fake sky and having a picnic. The mood, albeit initially appearing joyous and optimistic- had a severely awkward undertone of despair.

The awkward silences, the trailed off sentences, dancing around every subject because everything always led back to the problem at hand. There was no way they could escape it, even down to feeling extremely guilty about avoiding it.

The food was nothing special- a couple of apples, pumpkin pies, and stews. It was all food TFC had cooked in the vault kitchen, and everyone was very grateful for it all- despite the limited choices.

BDubs leaned back against one of the tables, holding on to his hand carefully and wincing. He dipped his head and slowly lifted the bandage from his palm, peeking underneath. Frowning with confusion, he let out a frustrated groan.

“I don’t understand!” He exclaimed, annoyed, “My shoulder wound is already healed and scarring over, but this dumb hand cut has barely started to heal. It hurts so bad!”

False smiled empathetically, subconsciously moving her hand to the bandages wrapped around her leg,

“You did get stabbed right through the hand.” She quietly pointed out, “I wouldn’t be surprised if it takes months to completely heal.”

BDubs pouted,

“That sucks.”

Tango smirked, letting out a laugh at BDubs’ childish response. He shrugged, holding a bowl of mushroom stew in his hands,

“I suppose it could be worse. Could be possessed by a Demon.” He whispered.

“Oh- I wasn’t trying to say that I had it worse. I-”

“No no, it’s okay. I shouldn’t have said that. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have undermined how you’re feeling.”

Another awkward silence.

BDubs peeked another look at his injury. The flesh was pinky and raw, and weeped with blood ever so slightly. He was sure that if he’d kept going without seeking medical attention, he would’ve passed out from blood loss, or something.

Of course, the memories weren’t any better. He couldn’t sleep without a nightmare of his horses- of an imposter in his friend’s body, ready to destroy another aspect of his life. It was like the images of blood had been burned into his eyelids.

Tango wasn’t much better. He barely slept for trying to help, spending hours labouring over maps and previous messages- desperate to find  _ something  _ that would be of aid. And yet he kept getting frustrated- the others were the only ones finding anything of use.

As much as he loved Xisuma, Cub, and Scar, he could help but to feel that it should’ve been him. It should’ve been him helping. But apparently his helping consisted of doing nothing, and he hated that. He was an active person, and sitting around doing nothing was waning on how he felt.

False and TFC hadn’t slept much more- by choice, however. They’d stayed up playing board games, listening to see and help if BDubs had another night terror. Usually, they’d part ways and head to bed around midnight.

The vault usually began to stir at around 10 in the morning, with the collective sleep schedule of the inhabitants severely deteriorating. But it was the best they could to to continue on and distract themselves.

Because that was the main sentiment. Distraction. 

“Do you think… Do you think there’s more?” Tango asked, his eyes glistening as they flicked over the make pretend clouds.

“More what, exactly?” BDubs replied, raising an eyebrow.

“More people. In the world. Well, not people, but…” He paused, pouting, “Obviously there’s the Demons, Angels, and Ancient Beings. Deities, or what have you. But like… are they at the top of the food chain? Or is there… more?”

“Tango, are you asking if God exists?” TFC smiled.

“...I guess.”

False hummed,

“Well… there has to be something, right? The voices we hear, after the Dragon fight.”

“Always reading that same poem.”

“Do you reckon that’s a God? Or just another Angel?” BDubs asked.

“ _ Another _ Angel?” TFC laughed, “We’ve never met an angel. Everyone always says the three things that can get you magic are Demons, Ancient Beings, and Angels. And yet everyone always seems to get their magic from Ancient Beings, do they not?”

“...Do you think Angels don’t exist, either?”

“I don’t think we’ll ever know until we see it. And then it’d be too late, huh?” False sadly smiled.

The philosophical question hung in the room. It struck Tango that the impermanence of everything was so common. How an awkward picnic could quickly turn into a question about God, and Angels. He wasn’t sure which one was worse.

“Do you hear that?” BDubs perked his head up, looking around.

“Hear what…?”

“That knocking.” He hissed.

The four of them fell silent, and sure enough, they could hear the small echoing of a sound- like rapping on knuckles against metal. TFC stood, a stoically strong expression on his face, and stood. He scanned the common area as the others stood in silence, and after a few moments of deliberation, began to walk.

BDubs and False looked to each other in fear, whilst Tango stood and followed TFC- no second thoughts in his head. False reached her hand out, as if she was going to stop him, but BDubs shook his head.

TFC continued walking, turning his head around each corner and listening intently. Each time it was there- the sound of tapping. As he walked and Tango followed, the noise seemed to get louder, and echo more. And it  _ kept  _ getting louder. As they continued down the many halls, the sound was getting so loud that it was more like someone hammering on metal with their fist. Whoever it was, they were  _ desperate  _ to get in.

“Tango, you should go back.” TFC whispered back, keeping his eyes locked on where he was walking.

“What? No. I’m interested in this.”

“Interested or not, it could be dangerous.”

Tango frowned,

“I’ll stay behind you until the coast is clear. If it’s the Demon, I’ll run. But if it’s not, I want to see who’s so insistent on knocking down your door.”

TFC laughed quietly, continuing.

They reached the main entrance to the vault- a huge cog-shaped sliding door with smaller- more accessible- entrances. And sure enough, the banging was getting worryingly loud. They could see the door thumping from the pressure of whoever was trying to get in, and it was shaking the whole vault entrance.

Tango stayed quiet, keeping back as TFC stood in front of the door.

“Who is it?” The banging continued, “WHO IS IT?” He raised his voice, and the thumping stopped.

There was silence for a few moments.

“It- It’s me!” The voice was muffled and hard to discern, though it was deep.

“Who’s me?” TFC asked, suspicion shading his tone.

“C-Cub! Uh, this is the entrance, right?”

TFC chuckled, starting on the door. He spent about 30 seconds unlatching lock after lock that immediately reminded Tango of the same gimmick in films. Once they had all been unlocked, he swung the door open and sure enough, standing outside, was Cub- a sheepish grin on his face.

“Did you wanna knock any harder there, Cub?” Tango smiled, stepping forward.

Cub nervously laughed, looking around before dipping into the vault.

“Xisuma is on his way. And we don’t know where Scar is, but he should be here soon with Doc, Ren, and Zedaph.”

“Wait, what?”

“Tango, you’re gonna kill us a Demon.”


	36. A Chapter of Chat

The tunnels were incredibly dark, and as Doc led the way through the labyrinth, he insisted on talking to the others in soft whispers.

“So… you came to get me with  _ no  _ protection?  _ No  _ way to contact anyone if it went wrong?” He hissed.

“Yes.” Scar curtly replied.

“That’s stupid, not gonna lie.”

“It’s far from stupid. If I had been caught by the demon I would’ve been killed.”

“Exactly! That’s the point! No one would know where you were if you were… offed.” He shrugged, looking down a fork in the tunnel before continuing, “I just don’t understand your reasoning.”

“If the Demon caught me, but saw me without my communicator, it would think that I had no contact with anyone, and would have no reason to hurt me.” Scar shrugged.

“Yeah, but what if the Demon caught you and saw you as an easy target? That was pretty foolish of you.”

“Oh come on Doc, it’s fine. You don’t need to worry about me.”

Doc huffed angrily, suddenly quickening the pace. Zedaph and Ren quietly talked behind the other two, barely noticing as their leader broke into strides- as if he was trying to get away from the group.

Scar felt slightly guilty, wondering what he’d said, and pondered over saying something more. On the one hand, Doc was his close friend and Scar really  _ really  _ wanted to make sure he was okay. On the other hand, it was impossible to tell when Doc wanted to be alone, or whether he wanted someone to pursue, and ask how he was feeling.

Nevertheless, he persisted.

“Doc, are you okay?”

Doc laughed,

“I find it funny how you all think of me as the evil doctor when I don’t care about what you’re doing; but when I do care you brush me off.”

“Funny…?”

“Real fucking funny.” Stressed, he ran his hands through his hair, “Do you want me to care or not? Because I keep getting mixed messages and it’s fucking with my head.”

Scar pouted, unsure of how to respond. 

“It’s just-” Doc huffed, “ Nevermind, let’s continue.”

They carried on in darkness, cold drips of cave water and squeaks of bats and rats drifting through the caverns as the group continued walking. The tunnel itself was tiny, only big enough to walk single file- though Doc had to hunch over for the most of it. And being at level 11, after the first 15 hours, the pressure was dazing the group.

And by the 17th hour, Ren was turning restless. He and Zedaph had stopped talking a few hours prior, and he was clearly bored. Tapping his hands on his legs; cleaning his glasses over and over; humming the tune to hermit gang- he just kept distracting himself from the clear boredom he was feeling.

Scar would’ve thought Doc would be annoyed at the constant noise, but it seemed that every time Ren made a noise, Doc would smile. It appeared Ren was stopping both him and Doc from boredom.

And in the 23rd hour, Ren finally stopped.

“My God, this has to be the most boring thing I’ve ever done.” He moaned, “How far away are we?”

Doc laughed,

“We’re about 2 hours away. We’ve made good time. I didn’t account for how long the mining of the tunnel took out of our first journey.”

“Jesus, I don’t remember it taking this long on the way out.”

“To be fair,” Zedaph shrugged, “Both of you were still in a sleepy daze when we came out here. It was very boring for me.”

He chuckled, holding a torch at the back of the group.

“Oh yeah, sorry about that.” Ren sheepishly laughed, “We weren’t very talkative, were we?”

“You were not. But it’s okay, you are now!”

“Uh hey, Scar?” Ren asked, “You said you had a plan but you never told us what it was. I’m all for surprises but I’d like to know if I’m facing a Demon.”

Scar nodded in realisation,

“Of course, of course! My bad.” He began the explanation, “So in order to defeat the Bloody One, we need four types of magic- one being the Demon’s magic itself. And so you guys- being the ones who have remnants of the Demon in you-”

“Ew…”

“...from your possession- are the only ones who can kill the Demon.” Scar continued, turning back to Ren whilst hoping Doc was hearing, “And the other three types of magic are gonna be covered by asking some Deities to enchant some weapons.”

“Can you just do that?  _ Ask  _ Deities to do something?” Doc asked, his voice gruff.

“Xisuma says so, so I’d assume so. I know the Vex would be okay with that with the right offerings.” Scar shrugged.

“Right.”

“So when we get back, we’re going to dig straight through into TFC’s strip mine and get through to his bunker that way. Then Xisuma will take you guys and Tango to find the Deities and get your weapons enchanted; whilst Zedaph, Cub, and myself will take guard around the bunker.” Scar continued, “The Demon should be killed if we just injure its host with the weapons. We don’t have to hurt Impulse more than necessary.”

“Right, but we don’t want to damage TFC’s base when we fight it, right?” Ren asked.

“Well yes, but we won’t be fighting the Demon in the vault. Once the weapons are enchanted, we’ll figure out our next move from there.”

“Great. You sound  _ very  _ prepared.” 

2 hours later, the group found their way into the common room of TFC’s vault. They arrived as Cub, Tango, and TFC returned to the area themselves. Only Xisuma was left to arrive before their plan could be enacted.

\--------

“You look like shit.” Doc raised an eyebrow. 

“Thanks for that vote of confidence, Doccy.” Tango grinned, “Holy crap I am very happy to see you and Ren up and well.”

“We could say the same to you, Tango. You feeling better?” Ren asked.

“Well we all know how possession leaves you feeling…”

The three of them solemnly nodded, before bursting into childish giggles.

And then Tango began to tear up. He looked at his two friends- only having entered TFC’s bunker a mere few minutes ago

“Crap, I’m sorry. I’m just…” He sniffed, “Feels like things are finally taking a step towards being normal.”

“Hey dude, it’s okay!” Doc grinned, rubbing Tango’s back reassuringly whilst holding back tears of his own, “It’ll be normal again real soon.”

Tango smiled sadly, sniffing again and quickly bringing Doc into a hug. The recipient was stunned for a few moments, before he gladly accepted and reciprocated the action. Scar, who sat a few metres away, watched it with bated breaths.

Ren eventually stepped closer, also offering a hug, with Tango immediately embracing it. And when he pulled away, he smiled softly.

“It’s been a while since we’ve been here, huh?” He said. Tango nodded silently.

BDubs and False, still healing their injuries, had been moved to False’s Fairy City- away from any further possible damage to them. Zedaph had been posted to patrol the shopping district for any sign of the Demon; and Cub and Scar had been told to protect both the main vault door, and the interior, respectively.

TFC- whose absence had been dually noted by the four in the room- returned, with someone at his side. Xisuma strode in confidently, holding his helmet in one hand, and a book in the other. He put the book down and sat cross-legged on the grass of the Common Area, thanking TFC- who quickly left to his Overseer’s office.

“Right,” He exclaimed, “Let’s get started. Come on, sit down in a circle.”

Slowly and apprehensively, the others followed his wishes- Doc to his left; Ren to his right; and Tango opposite him. Xisuma couldn’t help but grin, and broke his serious demeanour in favour of reunions.

“This is it.” He beamed, “We’re gonna finally fix this. I am so happy to see you- you have no idea!”

“Sweet! How are we gonna do this?” Tango grinned.

“Right…” Xisuma nervously nodded, “I’m gonna take you to meet the Ancient Being that supplies my magic- The Void. I think he can help us. Are you ready?”

The three remaining Hermits in the room looked to each other, and solemnly nodded.

“Good, let’s begin.”


	37. Interlude- Humans

The Void around the Deities shifted. They all sat beside each other, facing towards where the humans would appear. The Void sighed, smirking and speaking first.

“They’re on the way. They’ve made the right decision.” It leant back, “With our powers helping them, their chance of survival rises significantly from 32.44 percent to 54.67 percent.”

“I’ve told you before, Void.” The Vex retorted, “Humans are unpredictable. Your statistics won’t work with them. It all depends on reactions- feelings- stimuli- even the weather could change their minds.”

“Hence why I don’t like Humans.” The Flame grumbled, its arms folded, “Unpredictable.”

“Not necessarily.” The Void shrugged, “I can predict their movements if I know the circumstances. For example, at this exact time, I can safely say there is a 13.283 percent chance that Ren will get too scared to face us. And an 83.09 percent chance that Xisuma will say the first words when they arrive.”

“Okay. That doesn’t change the fact Humans are far inferior to us. This is demeaning, letting them come before us like this.”

“What’s demeaning is your inability to see past your own Ego, Flame. Speak a word like that to the Humans and I’ll cast you away. You do remember you’re in  _ my  _ domain, correct? The Void is  _ my _ world, and whilst inside you will follow  _ my  _ orders.”

The Flame huffed, letting out a burst of smoke as its blaze grew. The Vex took no notice, preferring to continue the conversation.

“What’s the percentage their friend- Impulse, was it?- will be unharmed, then, Void? If you’re so good with these statistics.”

“I understand you’re mocking me, Vex, but I will continue as if it’s a genuine question. This will make you uncomfortable and help you think twice in the future.” The Void continued, “A 2.30 percent, if you insist on asking. We must not tell the Humans this, however. They will ask for favours we cannot perform.”

The Vex frowned,

“I hate to say it, Void, but you really are boring sometimes.”

“Only for you.” The Void smiled.

There was another shifting in the void, and the Ancient Beings immediately knew what was going on. They sat silently and watched as the Humans materialised in the void in front of them. Xisuma stood at the front, confident. Behind was Doc and Ren, and furthest into the expanse stood Tango, solitary and nervous.

Xisuma stepped forward, his chest puffed out, and put on his helmet, announcing their entrance into The Void’s domain.

“My Patron, Void,” He spoke, “I come to you with three worthy humans to plead a favour from you. We wish to fight a Demon dubbed the Bloody One, and beg for your immense power to enchant three swords to help us on this quest. We are willing to give you much in return, just name your price.”

The Void softly smiled, standing and approaching Xisuma,

“Oh Xisuma. Sweet sweet Xisuma.” It put a hand on his shoulder, “We know your plight. We have been watching, and waiting for you to come to us. We shall grant your wish with only one price.”

“Yes, my Patron?”

“Do not argue. This situation has made you all leap to each other’s throats, and it pains to see. My price to help you, is for you to return to happiness.”

Xisuma took a step back, dumbfounded. He blushed, it finally dawned on him how rough the last month or so had been. Constant arguments, constant fighting, and friends constantly getting hurt. And he realised just how kind The Void’s deal was. 

The Void truly just wanted the Humans to be happy.

“Yes, yes! Of course! Of course we will. We promise.” He nodded, smiling behind the mask.

“Thank you, Xisuma. Now allow one of your friends to step forward.” The Void moved away, turning its back on the group of Humans, “Doc, first. Please.”

Xisuma stepped to the side, leaving space for his friend to step forward. Doc hesitated, but slowly stepped forward into the empty space as The Void returned to his seat. The Vex jumped up as he walked forward.

“I like this one!” It chuckled, flying forward and poking at Doc’s clothes- who barely tried to deter it, “Doc, allow me to enchant your weapon. You have  _ just  _ what I look for in a Human. Similar to Cub, and Scar.”

Doc pouted,

“Yeah I hang out with them a bit,” He awkwardly spoke, “Here’s my weapon.”

He offered out a diamond sword, already enchanted to the peak performance in preparation. The Vex slowly nodded his head, taking the weapon and holding it up into the air. They all watched as lightning burst forth from nowhere, striking the blade and circling around, imbuing the blade with strange sparking runes. The Vex grinned, daintily handing it back to Doc- who jumped from the spark of static electricity, and stepped backwards.

The Void spoke once again as The Vex returned to its seat,

“Ren, I would like to take your sword under my power.”

Ren frowned, shrinking into himself and slouching slightly. He looked to Doc for support, receiving a reassuring nod, and apprehensively stepped forward. His legs were shaking, and he nervously clutched his hands together so tightly they were turning white. He was clearly cowering with fear in the presence of The Void.

“Uh… hi.” He squeaked, looking at the dark shifting form of the Ancient Being.

The void smiled. It stood once again, putting its hand under Ren’s chin and looking into the Human’s eyes.

“You needn’t be afraid, my child.” It said, “I shall not hurt you.”

“Yeah…” Ren whispered, “Uh why me…?”

“You place value on creating things that will brighten the days of others. You’re selfless in every way. I see what you do, and what it means to you, and I respect your passion.”

Ren flushed up, nervously looking away and unsheathing his sword. The Void took it, assuring it didn’t move in any way that surprised or scared the Human. It lifted the unenchanted sword up into the air before plunging it into the deep depths of the void. Stars swirled around the weapon, bonding to the blade and shifting the crystalline surface into a deep black blade. Handing the blade back to Ren, The Void returned to sitting, a smile upon its face.

An awkward silence drifted in, as Xisuma, Doc, and Ren looked back to Tango, who stood with his eyes wide, gazing in a terrified manner. He had his arms drawn around himself and looked worried. And it made sense why.

The final Ancient Being- The Flame- was Tango’s previous Patron. 

The Flame ignored his gaze, turning its head away and ignoring the situation at hand, before The Void once again took the lead, a scolding tone to its voice.

“You remember what I told you, Flame. This is  _ my  _ domain.” It growled.

With a grumpy huff, The Flame stood, and reluctantly walked toward Tango. But before it could speak, the Human interjected.

“If we’re gonna do this, I have a few things to say to you, Flame. And if you even think about interrupting me I will go apeshit.” Tango stepped forward, squaring up with the Ancient Being- the fire reflecting in his eyes, “How fucking dare you. When I had a magic contract with you, what you gave me was pathetic. Fire resistance and the ability to put out tiny flames- things  _ anyone  _ can do with minimal effort.”

Xisuma looked horrified. He’d never heard of someone standing up to a being as powerful as The Flame. And still Tango persisted, his anger apparent to all surrounding.

“And what did I give you in return? I held rituals in your name 4 times a day. I brewed 100 Fire Resistance potions for you every week. I collected as much lava, fire, and obsidian as I could carry, and brought them to you every night. I spent all my free time in the Nether- in  _ your  _ domain- in return for  _ what? Party tricks _ ?” Tango ignored the murmurs of his friends- discovering for the first time how his contract worked, “And then what? You break our contract without even so much of a warning, leaving me to find out by  _ burning alive  _ a couple hundred times! You’re manipulative, rude, and between you and me, I’m not sure whether The Demon or you was nicer to me. Now enchant this fucking sword so I can be out of your sight.”

He held the sword out, blade in his palm, and glared at The Flame. The Flame, not saying a word, put its hand on the hilt. The blade burst into torrents of fire, clearly burning Tango’s hand- but he said nothing, and pulled the sword away, sheathing it and stepping away.

“Take me home, X.” He whispered, before disappearing and returning to the earth.

The other three Humans stood in awe at the turn of events. Xisuma stepped forward, fear painting his eyes.

“I-I’m sorry, my Patron. I-I- didn’t kn-”

“Be silent, Xisuma.” The Void spoke, “Be silent and return to defeat The Bloody One.”

The Void lifted its arm, and the Humans disappeared from its realm. It turned around to face The Flame and The Vex, and laughed.

“There was a 39.2238 percent chance that Tango would stand up for himself and tell you your shortcomings.” It chuckled, “I’m glad he had the courage, Flame. I hope that you can see the harm you’ve caused.

The Flame stayed quiet, speaking only in a spark,

“He was right, wasn’t he?”

\--------

Xisuma felt himself reappearing in the material world, and saw TFC’s bunker fade in around him. Ren and Doc followed, flickering in beside him. He looked around in a panic, finally seeing Tango sitting a few feet away, sniffing and wiping away tears- and rushed towards him.

“Tango, are you okay?” He asked, his hands still shaking from the encounter.

Tango sniffled a bit, puffing out his chest and smiling. His cheeks were wet with tears, but his smile was fully genuine. He laughed,

“I have been wanting to say that since The Flame broke our contract.”

Xisuma nodded slowly,

“I had no idea your contract was that bad. I’m so sorry, I can’t imagine how bad that must’ve been.”

“It’s cool,” Tango shrugged, “I’m sorry for not telling you all our contract was broken. I was so scared to say that I had been taken advantage of by The Flame again.”

“Hey, hey.” Xisuma smiled, “We’ve gotta do what The Void said. No more conflicts between us Hermits. No more fighting.”

There was a resounding  _ ding  _ from the four communicators- an urgent message. All of them quickly opened the chat to see a single word sent to them.

**Zedaph: Run.**


	38. Run.

Zedaph strolled around the shopping district- checking each cart, stall, and building, for any sign of The Bloody One. Granted, after the first hour he fell bored and started brainstorming ideas for treasure hunts in the area. He had been told by Xisuma that time worked differently in the void, and that although to them it would take only a few minutes, it could’ve been a few hours before they resurfaced with the weapons and means to launch their attack.

He hadn’t been able to sleep in the time past the world border. His mind was heavily occupied with thoughts and images of Tango and Impulse. Impulse, taken away by the Demon; and Tango, left alone as Zedaph fled. As a result, his concentration was lacking, and he couldn’t stand to watch the sun set as it did.

Of course he was annoyed that he didn’t get time to reconnect with Tango once he had arrived back in TFC’s bunker. They had only been able to quickly wave to each other before Cub quickly took him away to begin guarding. Zedaph had wanted to speak more. He’d wanted to apologise to Tango for running. He’d wanted to hug. He’d…

Although he didn’t want to admit it, he had only wanted things to return to normal, and yet he knew they wouldn’t.

_ “Zedaph…?”  _

Zedaph quickly whipped around at the sound of the voice- unmistakable in origin. He was standing in front of Impulse’s Gold Shop, and although it was still light, everything suddenly felt very dark and oppressive. He shook it off, believing the voice was nothing but a sleep-deprived auditory hallucination.

“ _ Zed. _ ” But there it was again- the point of origin unclear, and the speaker obvious.

“I really need to get some sleep.” He laughed, the shaking of his voice clearly broadcasting his fear.

_ “Zed, it’s me.” _

He flinched, his eyes locking onto a shadowy figure standing in between iTrade and the Gold Shop. And the shadowy figure stepped forward, speaking again,

“Zed, I’m here.”

As Impulse walked out from the shadows, it was instantly clear that… it  _ was  _ him- not the Demon. His eyes weren’t coloured red, his posture wasn’t unnaturally perfect. His expression wasn’t empty. He was terrified.

He was hunched over, arms drawn around himself. A huge tear in his shirt revealed a gnarly scar upon his stomach, and another, deeper coloured one on his shoulder. The bags under his eyes looked more like bruises, and he looked unsteady on his feet. The fear in his eyes was horrifying.

“Imp-” Zedaph stopped himself, believing it to be another trick from the Demon, “I know it’s not him.”

Impulse’s lip quivered, and he looked like he was about to cry,

“It is. It’s me, I-I promise.” He sniffled, “I don’t know why but The Bloody One has let me take control back.”

“F-forever?” Zedaph stepped forward, kneeling down.

“No, no. It’s watching from inside me.” Impulse followed, kneeling in front of Zedaph, “I… I can  _ feel  _ it inside and it hurts. It hurts so bad, Zed.”

“Impulse, don’t go. Fight it. Please, fight it.”

Impulse flinched, his face turning sad,

“I have been. I’ve gotten nowhere. I haven’t even been able to see what it’s been doing. I… I can’t remember anything but pain. Zed, how long has it been? H-how long have I been under its control?”

“...A- A week and five days.” Zedaph thought, “But it feels like so much longer.”

Impulse sadly nodded,

“I… I need to tell you something. The Demon doesn’t want me telling you, but you need to know, and you need to tell Xisuma. You think that just causing an injury using the enchanted swords will work-” Zedaph recoiled in fear.  _ How did Impulse know their plan? Did the Demon know?  _ “But it won’t. I-”

Impulse stopped. He leant back and rose onto his feet, stumbling back and covering his mouth.

“You what?” Zedaph asked, “Impulse, what’s happening?”

“It- it’s taking over a-again-” His voice was strained, and he struggled to move.

Zedaph watched in horror as Impulse’s eyes  _ changed _ . Like a drop of blood dripping into a pool, the warm brown colour dilated into a cold bright red. He stood, and it wasn’t him any more.

The Demon stood up, its posture unnaturally perfect and its expression terrifyingly blank. It rolled its neck, flashing an empty grin and locking eyes with Zedaph.

“Now now Impulse, don’t go telling him  _ our secrets _ .” It hissed, stepping forward, “Ohoho- what a shitty thing to do- try and stop my plans- don’t you think, Zedaph?”

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” Zedaph weakly spat, “Why the fuck would you give him back control only to rip it away again?”

“Oh Zedaph, surely you understand. I’m hungry. I’m so  _ so  _ hungry, and only this world can satiate it. Surely you understand what it’s like to be absolutely starving. All I want is to be rid of this hunger.” It moaned.

“That’s cool, but I didn’t ask.  _ Why  _ did you mock Impulse and give him a taste of freedom only to tear it away?” Zedaph repeated, more angry that time.

“You didn’t realise…?” The Bloody One drew its sword- a thick pulsing blade- and cackled, “ _ That was your last goodbye. _ ”

And with that word, the Demon jumped into action, swinging the sword down. Zedaph let out a cry, lifting his diamond bracer to block the attack. The thunk of metal echoed through his bones, immediately shooting adrenaline around his veins.

Zedaph turned his back to the attacker and pushed off, sprinting away from the conflict. He could hear running from behind him, and felt his sleepy manner immediately wiped away in favour of a burst of Testosterone. Fumbling to draw his sword, he cried out in hopes Cub was nearby and would help.

The Demon laughed, gaining on Zedaph. It got close enough, and launched onto its prey, sending both of them sprawling onto the ground. He started crying out as it lifted its sword up, ready to bring it down unto his face. Using his legs, Zedaph scooted underneath the Demon’s legs, squealing as the sword thumped into the ground above his head.

Taking in a deep breath and reminding himself to blink, Zedaph kicked the back of the Demon’s knee, slipping through its legs and pushing it onto the floor as its knee buckled. Taking the stutter to his advantage, he picked his shield up and slammed it into the back of the Demon as it stood, sending it sprawling once more. He breathed heavily, holding the wood up to cover as much of his body as possible. He didn’t want to fight.

It slowly stood, turning around and immediately jumping towards Zedaph. But the human had already raised his sword to the Demon’s throat, and upon touching the blade, it stopped.

“I don’t want to fight you.” Zedaph said, attempting to sound confident, but the break of his voice betraying it.

“That’s too bad.” The Demon laughed, grabbing the sword with its hand, “Because I do.”

The blade cut into The Bloody One’s hands, but it didn’t flinch- not even when the blood began to stream from its fingers. In one swift movement, a wave of deep red energy shot up the sword, striking Zedaph with a burst of psionic energy. He stumbled away, his chest heaving and breath stolen.

The Demon rose once again, holding the two blades. Zedaph’s sword had shifted into the same texture as its enchanted blade, and they pulsed with energy.

It slowly walked towards Zedaph, a sadistic yet empty grin upon its face. Unable to do anything, the Demon struck him with both swords, in an X shape. He managed to lift his arm up to protect himself, gaining a nasty slash on his tricep.

Once again, the Demon went to attack, seeking to strike to kill. It lurched forward, before-

“I’LL TELL YOU WHERE THEY ARE!” Zedaph cried out.

The Bloody One stopped dead in its tracks,

“ _ What? _ ” 

“I’ll… I’ll tell you where Ren, Doc, and Tango are if you don’t hurt me.” His voice wavered.

“Oh…?” It laughed a cold empty laugh, “Whilst I commend such  _ selfishness,  _ Zedaph, I have blood on my mind.”

“Then kill th-them!” He gulped, “That’s what you want, i-isn’t it?”

The demon smirked,

“I suppose you’re right.”

“They’re in TFC’s bunker. Cub’s guarding the entrance, and Scar’s guarding the halls. TFC is in there as well.” 

“Wow… such a  _ comprehensive  _ guide. You really are committed to selling out your  _ ‘friends’ _ , huh?” It raised an eyebrow, sheathing both swords, “I suppose I should be on my way.”

And with that, the Demon turned tail and began to walk. Zedaph watched in fear as it jumped into the air and began to fly towards the aforementioned bunker.

He immediately felt unfathomable guilt wash over him, and his face flushed up. Trying to rationalise it, he told himself that he would’ve been killed otherwise. The least he could do was warn them. And so with the guilt piercing his stomach with nausea, he whipped out his communicator and typed a single word in the chat.

**Zedaph: Run.**


	39. The Chapter Before the Final Fight

“Where do we go?”

“We’re cornered! There’s nowhere we can go.”

“Thanks for the optimism, Doc, really helping here.”

“What the fuck do you want me to say, Tango? I’m being realistic.”

“You’re being a dick. I’m not gonna let your nihilism run us out of hope!”

“Guys, stop.” 

“Ren, just… stay out of this.”

“Stay out of this? I’m a pretty big part of this, if you didn’t notice. Don’t tell me to stay out of it, Doc.”

“Just- ugh my head hurts!”

“Okay, really sorry about that, but I didn’t ask.”

Xisuma crouched down, putting his hands to his head and rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet. He groaned in a single tone, trying to block out the others arguing. His head was thumping from the exposure to void, and Zedaph’s message had just sent his mind sprawling. He stood up, frustrated.

“Come on guys. Do you not remember our  _ only  _ request from the Deities? Stop arguing, and let’s stop panicking.”

The others in the room fell silent, the resolve unanimous. Silent in thought, they all turned their heads towards the entrance to the common room. Scar appeared from the corridor, his face panicked,

“Cub’s fighting off the Demon. You need to leave now.”

“Where’s Zedaph? Is he okay?” Tango eagerly asked.

“I don’t know. We don’t have time to check. Cub can’t fight it off for much longer.”

“Where do we go?”

“I don’t know!” Scar exclaimed, looking back quickly, “Does TFC have a map of his strip mines? Maybe there’s an exit there?”

“No, I don’t think so.” Ren shrugs.

“Maps…  _ Maps? _ ” Xisuma furrowed his eyebrows, “The map room!”

Doc frowned,

“Could you elaborate?”

“The core of the world has traps. I put them there to stop Evil X from getting into the server.”

“The… core of the world?”

“A remote building containing the world map, the clump of command blocks making up the code, and backup potions in case of emergencies.” Xisuma nodded, “We go there, we can trap the Demon, use the swords to injure it- but enough so Impulse is safe- and kill it. It’s perfect.”

“How do we get there then?”

Xisuma looked around, taking off down a corridor. The others quickly flashed glances to each other before following, the argument immediately slipping away from their minds. He found TFC’s Nether Portal quickly, and immediately, they began their journey.

“X, how are we gonna trap the Demon if it has no idea where we’re going?” Tango jogged up to beside Xisuma, struggling to keep up with the latter’s fast pace.

The masked companion reached into his pocket and hanged Tango his communicator,

“Send a message out. Make it panicked. Make it seem like we accidentally gave out the info.” He said, deadpan.

Tango nodded, lagging back behind and pulling out his communicator too. He began to spin a story.

**Xisuma: Tango where the fuck are you?**

**Tango: In the strip mines, why?**

**Xisuma: It’s here, you dimwit! Hurry the fuck up, we’re leaving!**

**Tango: What?**

**Xisuma: QUICK**

**Xisuma: JUST RUN TO THE CORE OF THE WORLD’S COMMANDS TANGO**

**Xisuma: fuck.**

Ren held behind, beginning to shake. He flicked his head around the Nether hub, quietly muttering incoherences to himself. No one seemed to notice, besides Doc, who slowed his pace to talk to his friend. The taller man frowned, unsure of how to go about it.

“Ren, are you-”

“I’m really scared, Doc.” Ren interrupted, lifting his face to look at Doc- but his eyes could never meet his friends, “I… I’m not much of a fighter, and I-”

“You don’t want to hurt a friend.” Doc whispered.

“Yeah. Funny how you read me better than your own feelings.”

“What can I say, it’s a talent.”

They both fell into silence, continuing forward. Ren’s hands were tightly clasped together, and his hands began to shake more and more. He sighed, trying to suppress the fear, but it was failing miserably.

“Ren, it’s okay.”

“It’s not, Doc.” He replied, tears in his eyes, “It’s not okay and I’m trying to convince myself that that’s okay. And I just can’t shake the feeling that something’s gonna go wrong.”

“How so?”

“Impulse is possessed, right?”

“Right.”

“Then why has his appearance changed?” Ren asked.

Doc stopped,

“W-what?”

Ren grabbed his arm fairly violently, and pulled his friend along. Keeping his voice low, he continued shaking,

“When I was possessed I looked the same as normal. When you were possessed you looked the same as normal. The only thing that changed with us was the outside of us, not our appearance,” He was hissing by that point, “When Tango was possessed, he looked the same as normal. But Impulse’s eyes are miraculously changing colours? Something’s wrong here.”

“I’m not sure I follow. You’re smart Ren, smarter than me with things like this. What do you think it means?”

“I think this is more than possession. Hurting him with these swords is hard enough, but I have a feeling we’re gonna have to go further.”

Doc frowned,

“I want to tell you you’re wrong, but… my nervous tummy is telling me otherwise.”

“I hope your gut is wrong. I don’t wanna have to hurt Impulse.”

Doc put his hand on Ren’s shoulder, the cold metal sending a shiver down his spine. He smiled and nodded, and although none of them said anything else, they held the interaction as solidarity in the storm. They’d been in the ‘swamp’ together, and they would stick together until the end.

Xisuma reached a portal in an offshoot of the tunnels no one had ever seen before. He turned back,

“We’ll wait here until the Demon shows up-”

There was a laugh, echoing from down the tunnel.

“Looks like we won’t have to wait.” Tango chuckled nervously.

_ “Run run, as fast as you can.”  _ The voice of the Demon echoed straight to them, “ _ Your blood will run unto my hands.” _

“Through the portal, now.” Xisuma hissed, grabbing Tango by the scruff of the neck and throwing him through the portal,

“This is it. The final stand.”


	40. The Final Fight

Tango stumbled through the portal, quickly managing to jump over a pressure plate before falling onto the ground. He watched as Xisuma manifested through the purple-tinted gateway, and was about to voice his anger, but stopped when he saw Xisuma’s terrified eyes behind his mask. This wasn’t a joke. 

Ren and Doc quickly joined them, drawing their swords in such perfect tangents that their stances were identical. Xisuma fumbled for his weapon, and Tango silently obliged with the unspoken declaration of war. They spoke nothing more, the terror of the situation stealing all words.

And they waited.

They  _ knew  _ The Bloody One was coming for them, and they  _ knew  _ what they had to do, but the tension was…

They could hear their own heartbeats.

And they waited and waited, but nothing seemed to come. And Tango slowly turned his head away from the portal- keeping his eyes locked on it. He broke the stare, looking to Xisuma,

“We should discuss a-”

Suddenly and quickly, with no warning, someone burst through the portal at full flying speed and rammed into Tango, pushing him against the wall with a horrible crack. He cried out in pain, immediately knowing the Demon had joined the fray. The others were slow to react, but leapt forward, trying to pull the Demon off of their friend.

Tango screamed as the Demon’s thick claws pierced into his arms, his chest heaving with the surprise. He wanted to scream. He wanted to cry. He wanted to leave. The adrenaline shot through his system, telling him to run, run, run-  _ run you fool! _

Doc managed to loop his fingers onto the back belt loop of Impulse’s shorts, pulling the Demon away and throwing it to the floor. It tore flesh from Tango’s arms as it fell, and let out a piercingly horrific squeal, animalistic.

Before they could restrain the Demon further, it was back on its feet and racing towards Doc at unnatural speeds. A second collision occurred- the Demon tackled Doc to the floor and began punching. Simultaneously straddling and pinning the redstoner to the floor, it punched quicker and quicker- no time to even think about dodging. 

Once again, the others struggled to jump into action as quick as the Demon. It just moved too fast, too sporadic and unpredictable- too unnatural. When they managed to comprehend the speed at which it was working, Xisuma swung his sword, the dull diamond blade slicing a cut to the Demon that healed almost immediately.

“My sword is useless, you guys need to do it!” He cried, running his fingers into the Demon’s hair and pulling as hard as he could.

The demon fell tumbling back once again, clutching its hair as it laughed a laugh they’d never forget. It lifted its leg and kicked towards Xisuma, connecting with the back of his knee, and sending his legs bucking. It jumped back to a crouched stance, lunging forward and pulling Xisuma’s helmet off.

“ _ Peekaboo! _ ” It hissed, bringing the helmet back down straight onto his head. 

Blood began to seep from Xisuma’s head, and his dented helmet fell to the side.

He wasn’t moving.

“You fucking killed him!” Ren cried out, panting.

“OH BOO HOO! HOW SAD!” The Demon squealed, cackling. 

It stood, clamping its hand around Ren’s neck. Lifting the victim from the ground, things turned for the better. Doc and Tango, now becoming accustomed to the Demon’s sheer speed, began to make ground in the battle.

Tango swung his sword- flaming with the furious energy of The Flame- and connected with the Bloody One’s hand. It let out a genuine cry of pain, and immediately dropped Ren to the ground, clutching the wound. 

Doc followed quickly, the Vex magic of his weapon climbing up his metal arm. He thrusted the sword into the back of The Bloody One’s legs, forcing it to kneel. Then, with the strength of his anger and adrenaline, he took the Demon by the neck, and lifted it into the air, using the momentum to slam it onto the pressure plate. A glass chamber shot up around the Demon, encasing it, and trapping its arm in between two pistons.

Ren, wheezing and clutching his neck, rushed over to Xisuma and immediately checked his pulse. Letting out a sigh of relief, he laughed, then attempted to not cry. 

Doc kept his eyes fixed on the Demon, watching as it lay flat on the floor, eyes locked to the ceiling. He panted, his eyebrows furrowed.

Tango winced away tears, the pain of his wounds near too much to bear. He groaned, wondering whether it was over.

He was the first to speak.

“Is it… did we do it?” He asked, his voice hoarse.

“Not yet.” Doc replied, “Ren, you need to strike him with your sword. His arm is sticking out of the trap, it’s simple.”

Nodding in approval, his face locked in the grimace of suppressing tears, Ren approached the trap, and looked at the body they used to know. But it was a Demon, and no longer the person they’d called Friend for years. He looked into the eyes of the creature that had stolen their friend, and muttered a last rite.

“When I next talk to Impulse, I’m going to tell him how bad you were, and how you’ll never amount to anything more than a parasite.”

He lifted his sword and bought it down to strike the Demon.

The Bloody One cried out, and fell silent, his eyes shut.

“Did- did we  _ do it _ ?” Tango asked, his voice quiet. He stepped closer.

Doc also stepped forward, his face growing into a sad smile,

“We did.”

“Impulse? Impulse, you there buddy?” 

The body groaned, eyes still closed.

“Tango?”

“Impulse, you’re back!” Tango squeaked. 

Taking advantage of the calm, it snapped open its eyes and leapt at the side of the chamber, cracking the glass to a near shatter. Each fragment of the windows showed red eyes. Deep red eyes. The Demon was still there.

“Wh-Why didn’t it work?” Ren stuttered, falling backwards.

“I don’t know! Xisuma said it would! Did we do it wrong?” Tango replied, terror consuming his every being.

“You don’t understand?” The Bloody One laughed, bringing another fist down onto the glass, sending webs of cracks all around it.

The sound of the Demon’s voice made everyone feel sick to the stomach,

_ “This isn’t possession.” _

It punched through the glass, shattering the chamber containing it, and immediately lurched for Tango. Stretching its claws as it moved. Before he could react- before his brain could comprehend the physical and mental happenings, it struck him in the side of the neck. 

Tango screamed in pain, fumbling to remove the sword, and fell into a backwards lurch. He stumbled into the entrance of an offshoot corridor, and immediately applied pressure to the wound. The pain was unbearable. 

“GET TO THE MAP ROOM!” Doc cried, leaping into action.

But everything had slowed down for Tango. Each second merged to the next, and the sounds mixed together to one big and painful scream. He struggled to keep consciousness. Doc, whilst running, picked him up and threw him over his shoulder, sprinting for a safe room.

He stopped after a minute of running, reaching into his pockets and pulling out a roll of bandages. He quickly wrapped them around Tango’s neck, placing a dressing where the claw marks were.

“Fuck. Tango, we didn’t bring any healing potions.” He panted.

“Wh- where- wh-” Tango heaved, trying to speak.

“Sh, sh.” Doc hushed, “You’re making it worse.”

Tango whimpered, but persisted,

“Wh- where- where’s R-r…” He paused for breath, “Ren-”

“Tango.” Doc said quietly, his voice barely audible.

“Y-yes?” He replied, trying to stand.

“He’s not here.”

\--------

Ren stumbled through a door, hearing the pistons slam shut behind him with a rush of air. He panted heavily, panicking- he’d gone a completely different way from Doc and Tango- he’d gone the  _ wrong way.  _ The last thing he wanted was to be alone- to have to confront the evil alone. His heart was thumping louder than it ever had, and it hurt as it pounded against his ribs.

The room he’d practically fallen into was pitch black, and he lurched around muttering concerns and curses. He tripped over what he could only assume was a lever, as the spotlight in the room flicked on. An obnoxiously large redstone light cast a spotlight over a huge mass of blocks.

A huge mass of command blocks.

It was obvious what it was. Ren had somehow found himself in the room that contained the code that made up the world. Standing in awe, he couldn’t break the gaze. It was like looking at a God. The entirety of the world that he lived in- every block, every item, every monster- it was contained in front of him, in about a thousand blocks. It made him feel so infinitesimally alone and small.

He continued walking across the pitch black floor, and peeked over the edge of the cliff. The command blocks were suspended over what looked to be a pit to the void. And there was no railing stopping him from falling into the pit.

The sound of pistons sent a wave of nausea towards him as he whipped around. Ren wanted to scream when he saw the Demon walking towards him. It occurred to him  _ just _ how much it didn’t look like Impulse anymore.

Of course, its eyes were a deep red- the bloodshot veins visible even in the darkness. Its nose was dripping with blood, and fat, black, streams of icker poured from its eyes. The torn clothes were one thing that made it look incredibly feral, but the pointed claws was another. Its fingers cracked and twisted into blood red claws that- judging by how they harmed Tango- were sharp to the point.

Even the hair; that Impulse usually meticulously softened, brushed, and styled; was tangled and matted, clumped together with blood. It was sad to see how poorly the Demon had treated its body.

“Hello, Ren.” The Demon spoke, the sound echoing around and around.

“Leave me alone.”

“Oh, I can’t do that. I need to kill you and reach my full power.”

Ren’s chest heaved, and he backed away, his eyes flicking to the command blocks and back. The Demon followed his panicked gaze.

“Whatever’s the matter, Ren?” It mocked, “Feeling nervous? Thinking I’m gonna… destroy the code?”

Ren didn’t reply.

“I’ll let you in on a secret.” It laughed an empty laugh, “I’m hardcoded into this world, just like you are. I’m just as much a part of this world as you are.”

“But you won’t be when I kill you.” Ren was surprised at how stern his voice sounded.

“You can’t kill me with a paltry slice, human. I would’ve thought you’d figured that out by now.”

The Demon swung forward, rearing the sword up and launching into an attack. Already on edge, Ren managed to dodge, and fell into the floor. He leapt to his feet, sprinting away and for the door. Banging on the pistons, he searched around for the button- or pressure plate- or lever-  _ anything _ that opened the door. But there was nothing there.

“Don’t close your eyes,  _ dog,  _ you might miss it!” The Demon cried.

Before Ren could think to reply, the thunk of a lever sounded, and the lights in the room turned off. He peeled himself away from the door, trying to run towards the other side of the room. He could hear The Bloody One laughing in the darkness, and the lack of sight was making it even worse.

He stopped moving, trying to wait for his eyes to adjust, but the darkness was so potently dark that it wasn’t happening anytime soon. So he stopped, listened. 

He tried to suppress his breathing, the thumping of blood in his ears impeding his hearing.

He felt a rush of warm air on the left side of him, and jumped as he felt the presence of someone beside him,

“Show yourself!” He panicked and shouted, feeling the warm atmosphere rise the hair on the back of his neck. 

“Oh I’m not hiding- you just can’t see!” It growed in reply.

Ren felt hands firmly on his back, pushing him to the floor. His knees grazed, and he tried to stand again, but once again, the Demon shoved him to his back. The floor was ice cold against his hands, and his whole body rose in goosebumps.

It fell to silence once again.

He smelled thick iron and he felt a drip run down the side of his face. Bringing his tongue to the drip, he gagged at the taste of blood. And he didn’t understand.

_ Where did that blood come from? _

Ren let out a low groan, suddenly feeling a shot of pain in the back of his skull. He didn’t even notice being cut, but the blood and the pain was telling. 

_ Why did the demon change Impulse’s appearance? _

“Haven’t you figured it out yet,  _ dog? _ ” The Demon taunted, the voice coming from behind. Ren turned his head around, but heard a laugh come from behind him yet again.

_ Why didn’t the demon die from the cuts? _

“N-None of this makes sense!” Ren screamed, sweat running down his face, “Just- Just TELL ME WHY I CAN’T KILL YOU!”

It laughed again,

“Why  _ should  _ I?” It put a hand on Ren’s shoulder, and slid it up his neck and to his cheek. “You’re worth a lot to me,  _ dog.  _ I don’t want you to go killing me now.”

Ren went to punch the Demon, but it was already gone.

“Well you’re gonna kill me, aren’t you? That’s what’s gonna happen? You need the part of me you left with the possession. If you’re gonna kill me, at least tell me how I failed.”

The lights turned back on. Ren lifted his arm to his eyes, the brightness shooting daggers through his eyes. He whimpered, seeing The Bloody One straight in front of him.

“Oh you truly have the intelligence of a dog, too- huh?” It chuckled, “Very well. You can’t kill me because this isn’t a possession.”

“ _ What?” _

“Oh- did Tango not tell you?” The Demon hissed in laughter, “Impulse willingly made this deal with me.”

Ren sat with his mouth hanging open, his eyes still blurry from the light change. The Demon continued.

“I asked him. I asked Impulse to promise I could use  _ him  _ and his resources to get what I want.” The Demon grinned, its hand hovering over the lever, “And he said yes- if it meant he let Tango go. I kept up my side of the bargain, did I not?”

“He wouldn’t agree to that. He’s not like that!” Ren cried out.

“Well you clearly don’t know him very well!  _ Impulse  _ was the one who set the stakes.  _ Impulse  _ was the one who shook my hand.  _ Impulse  _ was the one who sealed it all with a ‘deal’!” It mocked his voice.

“I- I don’t understand-”

“Figures.” The Demon took a hold of the lever, “You don’t seem to have a light on  _ up there _ .” 

It laughed, turning the lights off once more.

Only this time, Ren jumped into action. He leapt up, sprinting to what he thought was the door- panting as he went. His feet met the edge of a ledge, and as he began to tumble over the catwalk, he felt a hand grab the back of his shirt.

He was shoved against the wall, and a sword pinned him to the black stone. The lights turned on once again, and Ren was staring into the eyes of the Demon.

“Just do it.” He spat, “If you’re gonna kill me, just do it. We all know you chose me for a reason! Is that why you’re so hesitant? Learned to love me, have you?”

The Bloody One pouted, letting out a frustrated sigh.

“Once again you’re wrong,  _ dog. _ ”

“I don’t-”

“Get it through your  _ thick skull _ , already!”

“Just SAY IT!”

The Demon cackled,

“I NEVER CHOSE YOU!” It roared, “ _ YOU _ WENT EXPLORING AND  _ YOU  _ FOUND ME!”

“W...What?”

“Are you deaf? Should I  _ cut off your ears  _ to match your INSOLENCE?”

“You’re telling me…” Ren’s voice was hoarse, and tears streamed down his cheeks, “all of this happened because…  _ I was in the wrong place at the wrong time?  _ All this… all this SHIT COULD’VE BEEN PREVENTED IF I HAD JUST… If I had… just… not gone adventuring…?”

“Waa! Waa! Waa! You’re such a BABY!” The Demon grabbed him by the collar of the shirt, and punched him in the face- his head cracked against the wall, “You couldn’t have prevented  _ shit.  _ I’m inevitable. And you could never do anything to stop me.”

“I- I don’t-”

“You could never hurt your sweet old friend, could you?” It switched to both hands, holding him by the shirt, and leaning in close to his face, “You could never hurt kind old  _ Impulse. _ ”

“FUCK OFF!” Ren screamed.

In abject horror- anger coursing through his veins, he tore his shirt from the sword pinning him, and shoved the Demon. He was surprised at his own strength, watching as The Bloody One stumbled back. 

And without thinking, he jumped into action.

Without thinking, he drew his sword.

Without thinking, Ren rammed his sword straight through the Demon’s heart.

It stopped moving, eyes wide.

The Demon winced, thick black tears pouring down its cheeks. Blood began to pour from the wound, and as Ren pulled the sword out from the chest, it stumbled back and… fell.

It fell over the edge, and down, down. Down into the bottomless pit beneath the clump of command blocks.

Down, down, disappearing into nothingness.

Ren fell to his knees, weeping silently. Everything was quiet. He didn’t properly hear as the pistons shifted open. He didn’t properly hear as Doc and Tango came rushing in. He didn’t properly hear as they guided him away, talked to him, and brought him back to the shopping district with a dazed Xisuma in tow.

The evening passed, and a shell shocked Ren could do nothing but repeat the events over and over and over and over and over and-

He’d killed the Demon.

But… Impulse hadn’t appeared, Impulse hadn’t respawned.

And he couldn’t help thinking that he’d killed Impulse, too.


	41. At What Cost?

The sun was setting, and everyone was gathering outside iTrade- yet another reminder of the elephant in the room. Xisuma leant against the wall, an icepack on his thumping head. His dented helmet lay in front, and Zedaph, Cub, and Scar sat next to him.

Since his fight with the Demon, Zedaph had patched up his wound, and rushed to the entrance of the bunker. He didn’t get there in time, and had to spend a while fixing Cub up whilst Scar fought the Demon. And Scar wasn’t too lucky either, also having the other two eventually patch him up. 

Tango and Doc talked to each other in hushed tones, throwing a look over to Ren every so often. They were bickering in a friendly way, waiting for one of them to make the first move, but neither did.

And Ren sat on the black carpet, fiddling with the corner of it as he… just thought. He absently lifted the fabric off the ground, his eyes locked wide open, and face locked in a frown. The panic and fear of the situation still hadn’t left his body, and it was getting worse and worse by the second. All the adrenaline in his body was duplicating, and he wasn’t sure how to vent the anger that was coursing through him. He didn’t even know what he was angry at.

He hadn’t told anyone what had happened in the Command Room- only repeated ‘he’s dead’ over and over. And he wasn’t really sure whether he was talking about The Bloody One, or Impulse. He wasn’t really sure if the latter  _ was  _ dead or not.

Tango had asked him where the body was. Ren remembered his face- desperate to find out what had happened to his best friend- torn up and terrified. Ren had seen the complete hopelessness in Tango’s eyes when he didn’t reply, and he felt sick because of it.

And yet he still couldn’t speak. His throat was so tight it hurt, and his mouth was so dry he couldn’t even make any noises. It hurt. He was trying… so hard to process everything, but… it wasn’t working. He had no idea how it would return to normal- how would the world recover?

There was the sound of Elytra unfolding, and although Ren wanted to see who it was, he couldn’t move his head. He just… stared.

“My gosh, you’re back!” It was Stress, “Doc, Ren!”

He heard Doc mutter something under his breath, and Stress reply,

“I didn’t even realise you were back, let alone… done with it all. Is… is everyone alright?” 

“Ren’s still shaken up. None of us know what happened.” Doc said, his voice low, “We just came into the room to find him crying, with blood all over him.”

“Is he hurt?”

“No. I don’t think the blood was his.”

Stress sighed, and her footsteps echoed towards him. She had barely been a part of the whole situation, and yet… as she leant down in front of Ren, he could see in his peripheral vision that she looked just as tired as the rest of them. And it dawned on him as he stared.

No one had come out of it unaffected. No one.

No matter whether the Hermit had been involved with the demon- no matter whether they were like BDubs, or False: directly harmed; or like Stress and Iskall: barely kept in the loop. It didn’t matter. Everyone had lost sleep, everyone had shed tears, and everyone had felt the effects.

Stress was crouched in front of Ren, her face locked in concern as he just continued to face forwards. She put a hand on his shoulder, examining the torn fabric, and spoke softly.

“Ren, sweet- you okay?”

He opened his mouth to say something, but let out a dry sob instead. Stress cooed, sitting beside him and letting him rest his head on her shoulder. He tried again, comforted by the warmth, and succeeded that time.

“I killed him.”

“You killed the demon, gorgeous! It’s okay!”

Ren’s face contorted into a frown, and he whimpered.

“I killed  _ Impulse _ .”

Stress twisted her head to look at Ren, and sighed,

“Honey, why don’t you tell us what happened?” She murmured, “If you can, of course.”

Ren slowly nodded, taking a deep breath. He tried to ignore it, but could feel everyone watching him. He began,

“I went… into the Command Block room. And the demon followed. We fought. And it…” Ren paused, turning to face Tango, “Did you know, Tango?”

“Know what?” Tango replied, eyebrows furrowed.

“That the Demon didn’t possess Impulse. That Impulse  _ voluntarily  _ made a deal with it?”

The gaze was shifted away from Ren, and to Tango. He stepped back, furrowing his eyebrows.

“Well… I had hoped I made it up. I wasn’t exactly… lucid when I was possessed. But.. yes.”

“And you didn’t tell us?”

“As I said, I thought I made it up.” Tango winced, “Impulse gave himself to the Demon in return for my safe return. The Demon phrased it strangely, and Impulse didn’t see the trick.”

Ren nodded slowly, his eyes glazed with tears. And with his friends behind him, he felt his courage growing.

“But it made me all… scared, and I couldn’t fight.” Ren grimaced, “And then it… uhm, it told me that…”

He trailed off, his breathing turning ragged as he got all the more frustrated. Stress put her arm around him again, squeezing, and gave him a reassuring nod. 

“It told me that all this happened because I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. And that I was too weak to fight it. Too weak to kill it.” He laughed an empty laugh, “And so I stabbed it. Right in the heart.”

“Did it work?” Doc asked.

“Yeah. It looked terrified. And just before it fell off the cliff, I saw its eyes… glaze over. It died.”

“Wait,” Xisuma furrowed his eyebrows, “It fell off the cliff in the Command room?”

“Yeah. I didn’t push it, I swear. I just saw Impulse’s body… disappear into the darkness.”

“That goes straight to the void.”

Everyone fell to quiet once again- Xisuma returning to nursing his head; Doc and Tango continued talking; and Stress silently rubbed Ren’s shoulder as he returned to the blank stare. His head was pounding, and his heart was racing just from remembering what had happened. He was glad it was over, of course, but… he had a feeling it wouldn’t be returning to normal at all.

The sound of Elytra faded in once again, and Ren felt fear arise in him as he heard Zedaph’s voice. Zedaph flocked instantly to Tango and began talking in hushed tones. They laughed, and hugged for far longer than they would normally do, before Zedaph loudly declared his reason for meeting them.

“I searched everywhere after the message was sent out that it was over.” He seemed far too cheery, and his next sentence revealed why, “I didn’t find Impulse anyway, so I’m assuming he respawned and made his way here! Is he in iTrade?”

Tango winced, turning to a frown afterwards.

“Zed, he’s not here. Are you sure you looked everywhere?”

“Positive. There’s nowhere else he would be.” He sighed, “Which means…”

They both fell into silence, comforting one another before Zedaph immediately started speaking again, trying to rationalise it all,

“He can’t be…  _ he can’t be dead,  _ can he?”

“I- I don’t know, Zed, We can’t get our hopes up if… if it’s likely, though.”

Zedaph crouched onto the floor, clutching his head with his hands, and rocking back and forth, only letting out a long groan. Tango, the only one sure of how to comfort him, knelt down behind him and pulled Zedaph close into him, whispering into his ear. 

Stress stood up suddenly, looking at everyone with a stern expression,

“This is it, then?” She said, her voice still that same confident, “We’ve won! We don’t have to be afraid any more!”

“Well it’s not like Impulse is sitting here congratulating us, is it?” Tango frowned.

“We won.” Ren muttered, “Why does it feel so bad?”


	42. The Abnormality of Normal

It had been a month since the confrontation with the Demon. Things had returned to normal- as normal as it could be after what had happened. Tango and Zedaph had taken up the task of upholding all of Impulse’s builds, games, and shops in his… absence. It was a massive undertaking, but no one had wanted to say anything, lest they make the suffering any worse.

It was less suffering than mourning. Impulse hadn’t respawned anywhere on the server, and it was beginning to come accepted that he wasn’t going to respawn. Xisuma had even gone as far to go hunting in the void beneath the Command Blocks, but there was no sign of him.

Luckily, however, there had been no sign of the Demon, either. The residents of Hermitcraft had been able to get on with life as usual, with no worries about being attacked by a dark force. 

After Xisuma had recovered from the concussion he’d gained from his blow to the head, he’d spent a lot of time doing admin things- like clearing up the Demon’s infection from the swamp, resetting the outer end, and checking up on everyone to make sure they were okay.

In that vein, he’d visited BDubs and False, both of whose wounds had healed without any hitches. BDubs had a bit of trouble clenching his fist, but apart from that, the scars were left as remnants of the perfect healing process.

On the whole, it seemed everyone had been healing and repairing after the confrontation, and although things had a sad undertone, it seemed like eradicating the Demon had also eradicated the negativity to some degree.

Ren and Doc had managed to readjust too, and had been spending their time collaborating on various builds together to try and create more memories together, rather than remembering the painful ones from the ‘Swamp’. They worked on a house together- somewhere to live together whilst they figured out their next moves.

“No, no, no.” Ren shook his head, “Don’t strip the logs.”

“You sure?” Doc asked, teetering on scaffolding.

“Yeah, it looks good like that.” He confirmed.

Doc jumped down from the scaffolding, standing beside him and looking up. The house mixed the perfect elements of redstone and building, and they high-fived in celebration.

“The Evil Doctor’s done it again, eh?” Ren nudged his friend, a grin on his face.

Doc frowned, pulling away and shrugging.

“Yeah, I guess.” He said.

“You okay, buddy?” Ren asked, furrowing his eyebrows, “Did I- did I say something?”

“No, no. Well. Yeah, but it’s fine.”

“Hey,” Ren put his hand on Doc’s shoulder, “Tell me. I don’t want  _ any _ more confusion between anyone on this server. All it’s done has made things worse. If something’s making you uncomfortable, I want to know about it. What did I say?”

“The… The Evil Doctor thing.”

“Does that bother you?”

Doc pouted, squinting as he thought. He subconsciously wavered his head from side to side, weighing up what he was thinking.

“I don’t know.” He said truthfully, “When Etho, or Beef called me it, I liked it! They meant it in terms of my skill- in terms of my ‘character’ I made up, you know?”

Ren nodded, listening as Doc continued,

“But in the few times that it’s been used as an insult, it really hurts. Implies I don’t care about my friends.” His eyes crossed over the building, “And obviously that’s not true. You know, this whole Demon thing has made me think. I’ve been playing the role of the ‘evil one’ for so long, I’m just not sure whether that’s what I want to do anymore. After seeing how horrible evil  _ can _ be, I don’t wanna associate with that any more.”

“That makes sense. I mean, I suppose we  _ were  _ the bad guys, right? When the Demon possessed up and messed with our brains. We saw paradise, and everyone else saw hell.”

“You know, though-” Doc smirked, “Hermitcraft seems like it’s finally returning to being the paradise it was before this all. Everyone’s that bit happier.”

From the warm sky, rain began to fall. The type of rain where it seemed like mist- but would soak them if they stayed too long. And Doc started to make his way towards their house, but Ren grabbed him by the arm.

“Is your prosthetic still not waterproof? We don’t want a replay of what happened in the ‘swamp’.” He asked.

“My old one wasn’t, but that was the first thing I made sure this one could do.” Doc grinned in response.

“Perfect.” Ren smiled, sitting on the grassy floor and inviting his friend to join him.

The front garden of the house led into the rest of the medieval district, and the grass glowed a healthy deep green. Ren lay down on the wet grass, once again beckoning Doc to do the same. And he reached his hands up to the overcast, but warm, sky, stretching his arms out as if he was trying to grab something.

And then Ren closed his eyes. He closed his eyes and smiled, just taking in the experience. Doc, confused, did the same, and closed his eyes. The feeling of misty rain falling unto his cheeks tickled, and he couldn’t help to smile.

He opened his eyes, and saw his hands outstretched too- though he didn’t do it consciously. It felt good- natural, calming, and… normal. It felt  _ so  _ normal. And he loved it.

Lying there, in the rain, with Ren for no reason- it gave him even more hope that things could get back to normal: despite the normality of Hermitcraft being, in its nature, abnormal.


	43. Interlude- Impulse

The three deities sat in astonishment, eyes locked on the human entity in The Void’s realm. He had fallen straight into their meeting area, and lay bleeding and unconscious- floating in the endless darkness. Impulse awakened, his eyes locked straight upwards and his face locked in an expression of grief.

“I’m dead, aren’t I?” He asked, slowly turning to a standing position.

“We’re afraid so, human.” The Vex replied, “Your name is Impulse, is it not?”

Impulse nodded, timidly clutching onto his shirt. He frowned and his lip quivered as he cowered in the presence of the powerful deities.

“You have options.” The Flame spoke, his tone having softened since Tango’s confrontation. “Two of them.”

“Options…?” Impulse repeated.

“You can… move on.” The Void nodded, “Perish, forever. Face what comes after…  _ this. _ ”

“What  _ does  _ come after this?”

The Void hummed,

“Even we do not know, young one. As powerful as we are, we cannot claim to know what comes after life.”

“It could be anything,” The Vex cut in, the ever present smile reassuring, “Reincarnation, Heaven, Valhalla, Nothing.”

Impulse nodded slowly, impressing the deities with the speed at which he was adapting to the grave decision to be made,

“And my second option?” He asked.

“Well…” The Void puffed its chest out, standing and stepping forward, “Since The Bloody One has been killed, there’s been an imbalance in the world. You could join us, as a deity.”

“You could achieve the power every human wishes of.” The Flame retorted, “Becoming a near-god.”

“Oh…”

“Is there something wrong, young one?” The Vex asked.

Impulse winced, frowning and looking up once more,

“Is there no way I can see my friends again?” He asked, “Properly, I mean. Not as a deity, not through reincarnation- if that even happens- but… can you not… revive me?”

“Not… entirely.” The Void frowned, “Your body has been broken.”

His hand reflexively jumped to the gaping, bleeding hole in his chest, wincing as The Void continued speaking,

“Your body can be easily fixed by our power, granted, but…” It looked away, then back, “Your mind is not so easily healed.”

“The only thing keeping your mind from snapping is the void around us.” The Vex slowly and sadly shrugged, “If we were to send you back as you are, your soul would instantly be shattered and you would live a life worse than death.”

“We could erase your memory, but that would be erasing your memory of everything. There would be nothing left. Again, a life worse than death.” The Flame said.

“Oh… That sounds… awful.”

“It’s okay, young one.” The Void whispered, “It’s why we say ascending is the most… tame of the options. You need only say the words, and you’ll be as safe as a deity.”

“...Okay.”

“So, you’ll join us?”


	44. Honesty, the Best Policy

Mumbo flew high over the ground, a map in one of his hands. His other hand was still in a cast, healing slowly but surely. He, like most of his servermates, had been lying low- recovering and recuperating. And now that the world was returning to normal, the time had come that Grian and Iskall had begun asking about their profits. 

The profits that Mumbo had, just over a month ago, thought it funny to pile onto a walking machine as a prank. He didn’t like thinking about what had happened, but it was only fair to revisit the site of the unfinished prank (and the subsequent breaking of the arm) and return the diamonds to where they needed to be.

Fumbling to swap the map for his fireworks, he saw the site come into view- the half completed contraption gathering dust in the centre of the plains biome. And it looked far different in the day- the discarded energy drinks and coffee cups didn’t cast stretched shadows across the grass; the contraption wasn’t concealed mostly in darkness; and… there wasn’t any Demon, for one.

He chuckled to himself, landing on the grass and feeling the soft dew of the day brush onto his ankles. Despite how it had rained the night previous, the weather was warm, and the atmosphere was humid.

Sure enough, the Sahara profits lay in block form on the top of the walking machine. Casting an eye to his back, and reflecting on his Elytra skills, he instead decided to climb up his contraption.

It wasn’t too hard- the grooves and dips of the pistons and observers served very well as handholds, and he found the climbing quite exhilarating. The only thing slowing him down was his cast. The plaster white base stretched from his hand to his elbow, with a red fiberglass outerwrap that Grian and Iskall had so kindly made. More than once, he found his fingers slipping from their holds, and panic setting in as he almost fell.

The adrenaline was a nice change, but by the time he’d climbed to the top of the contraption, he was exhausted. And as he sat high in the sky watching the clouds pass by, it was strange to him.

It was strange how everything could return to normality so quickly- the remnants of the conflict only manifesting in his arm, BDubs and False’s Scars, and… obviously the  _ lack  _ of Impulse. Besides that- pranks had resumed, shops had resumed- life… was back to how it was.

There was something that didn’t sit right with him still, however. After the purging of the Demon, the whole of the server had silently come over with a whole new sense of honesty. Everyone knew exactly what had happened throughout the couple of months to the T. And that included why Cub and Scar knew so much about Blood Magic in the first place.

The ConVex had bitten the bullet, and in a meeting with all the Hermits, explained what had happened. Mumbo pouted as he tried to recall what had happened.

_ Scar had been more nervous than Cub. He barely spoke throughout the whole meeting. Cub was incredibly eloquent and detailed in his explanations though, always turning back to his friend for encouraging smiles and checking he wasn’t going too far with the fine print. _

_ It was back in the Kingdomcraft days, he had explained, that Cub and Scar had both agreed to try and find a deity to derive magic from. And back in those days, there wasn’t as much warning against making deals with Demons. So they did it without question, making a deal where they provided blood in return for magic. _

_ The Demon was a different one to The Bloody One- one clearly quite omnipotent in that world. And yet when they came to Hermitcraft, their contract stayed. And on the Hermitcraft server, they decided to use their immense power for good. At that point Cub turned very upset all of a sudden, and had fallen into his seat, his face flushing up in embarrassment. With a reassuring look to Scar, he then elaborated that although they believed it was the good thing to do, they knew it wasn’t. _

_ The tension in the room was growing, and Cub continued. He confessed to all of the Hermits that in Season 4, Scar and him had taken it upon themselves to erase all unpleasant death memories from the others, without their knowledge. They then profusely apologised and got very worked up about it- despite Zedaph speaking for the others in saying Bygones were Bygones. _

_ With Xisuma encouraging them, Cub continued. He told the tale of how the Vex had helped them escape the Demon’s deal. And then, with haunted eyes, he recalled what had happened near the end of Season 5. How Scar had been lured back into the Demon’s grasps, and how he nearly perished because of it- and how Cub had buried the Blood Magic sword as soon as they reached Season 6. _

_ It had clearly been a hard thing to confess, but as the Hermits were, they were incredibly accepting and forgiving. The ordeal had been hard for everyone, and they understood why Cub and Scar had done what they did. Besides, as explained by Doc- they wouldn’t have been able to defeat the Demon were it not for their knowledge. _

Mumbo smirked, getting pulled back into reality as he felt a warm wing pass over him. The sun, now setting, peaked from behind the amber clouds. He wondered what he looked like, could picture the sparkles in his eyes, and was unbelievably entertained by that thought. 

Putting his hand on the ice cold diamond blocks, he closed his eyes and listened. The birds, the sound of the wind through the trees and bushes, it was all so reassuring (even quelled the itchiness of his cast) and simple.

He heard something else, his ears straining.

And Mumbo felt his stomach drop. He felt all of the peace and happiness be replaced with pure terror. Feeling sick, dizzy, and hollow, he heard the inexplicable sound of the radio.

The radio that had turned on by itself  _ in the presence of the Demon _ .

The radio that had been  _ manipulated by the Demon. _

The radio that had  _ signified the arrival of the Demon. _

Mumbo took a deep breath in, his bottom lip already trembling, and got to climbing down the contraption. He tried to remain calm- reasoned that it was just a malfunction- a quirk with the radio. Trying to convince himself it was just a bird that had turned on the radio.

And yet his already fragile climbing state got worse. He trembled as he descended, his palms growing sweaty as the fear only grew. He slipped, letting out a yelp, and only recovering barely- hanging onto the ledge with his casted hand. 

The sounds of the radio flickered- like someone was turning the radio on and off, pressing the power button like a child. And for whatever reason, that was all the more horrifying to Mumbo- the sound of Chirp cutting in and out like a choked scream.

He reached the bottom, his hands touching the ground, and feeling the damp grass brush at his ankles. He took a deep breath in, his heart thumping against his ribs to the point of pain, and… 

Mumbo turned around.

He turned around and he immediately brought his hand to his mouth, covering it in shock.

He felt his whole body become  _ engulfed  _ in goosebumps as he trembled.

The person stopped clicking the power button and turned to Mumbo,

“Hello.” He said, his voice… inexplicably empty.

“ _ What the fuck _ ?” Mumbo stuttered, falling back onto the ground.

The person approached Mumbo with a confused expression, and spoke with terrifying naivety and innocence.

“Where are we?”

“I- I-”

“I… I’m lost. Can you help me?”

Mumbo furrowed his eyebrows, too scared to say anything but one word. 

One name.

_ “Impulse?” _


	45. The Third Option

Mumbo, Grian, and Iskall stood outside of the RVs in the Hippie commune, unable to speak. Mumbo paced around the fire, his hand resting on his chin and his eyebrows furrowed. By the way he was walking, the others couldn’t help to think he was serious- despite the impossibility.

Grian sat by the embers of the fire, stretching to look at the door of Impulse’s RV. There was definitely movement from inside- few and far between as it was. He pouted, looking to Iskall- who was standing beside him, his eyes following Mumbo.

“Mumbo, will you please sit down and talk to us? Your message wasn’t very clear.”

Grian snickered, pulling out his communicator and looking at the private Architech group chat,

_ “ _ OMDG GYUS THERESS, _ two S’s,  _ IMPULSE IS HEER.” He phonetically spelt it out.

“That.” Iskall smirked, “And why are we in New Hermitville?” 

“It was closer! I was gonna go back to the Shopping District, but he kept  _ asking questions _ .” Mumbo clutched his hands to the side of his head in annoyance.

“Will you just tell us who’s in Impulse’s RV?” Grian asked, raising an eyebrow and smiling sadly.

“Who do you think it is Grian? Honestly?” Mumbo shrugged.

“I’d assume it’s someone who isn’t dead.”

“Yeah, Impulse.”

“But…” Grian winced, turning towards Iskall who shrugged.

“Grian, I wouldn’t lie about this. I swear to you.” The honesty in Mumbo’s eyes was almost visible.

“Shit, you aren’t lying.” Grian’s mouth fell open, “Dude, have you called Tango and Zedaph? I feel like they should be here.”

Without responding, Mumbo’s eyes widened in realisation. Iskall raised an eyebrow and smiled, pulling out his communicator and calling Tango and Zedaph immediately.

“Hey, hey. Yeah! You okay? No problem.” The one sided conversation only piqued the others’ interest, “So, uh… We’re at Hermitville. Yeah, the Hippie area. Well… we’re here because we’ve found… something? No, it’s better than that. We’ve found  _ him _ . I’m not lying, I swear. No, I promise. Well Mumbo- yeah, okay, we’ll be here.”

Iskall put the communicator down and sat on one of the log benches,

“Explain it all, Mumbo.”

“I found him- well, he found me, I guess. Somewhere out in the far areas where I was working on a prank. I had a radio and he came to the radio and he was just… turning it on and off. Like he’d never seen a radio before. I was surprised, but he didn’t even recognise his name.” Mumbo’s frown was indicative of the surprise he’d felt, “I thought it was a joke… so I offered to take him home. But… he just kept asking questions. Like… really really simple questions. Who I was- where we were going- what a  _ fucking cow  _ was! It was like he knew  _ nothing _ .”

“What the…?”

“We were passing over the Hippie area, and he didn’t even recognise the things  _ he’d  _ built. So I took him here and locked him in his RV.”

Iskall burst out laughing,

“You  _ locked him  _ in the RV? And he still hasn’t dropped the joke? Dude!” He wheezed with laughter.

“I don’t think it is a joke.” Mumbo raised an eyebrow, “He seems so genuine, even his  _ voice  _ is weird. He sounds younger, or… less experienced, or something. Not to mention how he looks-”

“How he looks? What do you mean?”

“He has-”

Mumbo was cut off by the sound of two voices, as they quickly landed on the ground beside the Architechs. Tango and Zedaph, both looking suitably panicked and unhinged, panted with the effort of flying so fast for so long. Before anyone could speak, however, Tango interrupted.

“ _ Where is he?” _ His voice was stern.

Mumbo pointed to the RV, and Tango immediately ran over to the door, turning to Mumbo and stretching a hand out. The keys were promptly thrown to him, and he unlocked the door. His hand lingered on the handle, before he took a deep breath and threw it open, stepping back down the stairs.

And they waited with bated breaths.

The movement from inside stopped for a quick moment.

Then it began anew- footsteps towards the entrance.

And Impulse stepped outside.

He looked different, though. His left eye had a deep red sclera, the brown iris still untouched. He was wearing a simple dark grey tank top and black shorts- no shoes. And his whole body was covered in deep red markings- like tattoos, but… different. They were divots, red runes engraved in his skin, like a reminder of the terror he’d been through. They curled around his arms and legs, reaching up his neck and even across his cheeks. He still looked like a Demon.

But Tango and Zedaph didn’t care. They saw him, and they immediately embraced him, laughing and crying at the reunion. They didn’t care that he looked different- they just held him. And everything was going to be okay. 

And everything was good.

Impulse looked uncomfortable, and he tried to weasel his way out of the hug. When that failed, he spoke for the first time. 

“Is it normal in your world to hug when you first meet something?” His voice was quiet, tame, devoid of… something.

Zedaph and Tango pulled out of the hug, confused.

“What are you on about Impy?” Tango asked.

Impulse frowned, backing away into the entrance of the RV. He spoke again, barely above a whisper,

“I don’t know what you mean.”

Zedaph turned to Mumbo, who sadly shrugged. Tango looked hurt, and drew his hands around himself as Impulse continued.

“I don’t know anything. I don’t…  _ remember  _ anything.”

“Hey, Impulse, come and sit down. Tell us what’s up.” Zedaph said.

“Why should I? I don’t know you. What makes you think I’m gonna talk to you?”

“Impulse, what happened?”

“ _ Who is Impulse?”  _ He spat, taking a defensive stance.

“You are.” Zedaph sternly said, stepping forward and grabbing Impulse by the arm, “I don’t know  _ what  _ happened to you, but you can’t remember anything, right?”

He nodded, and Zedaph continued,

“Obviously you can’t recall this, but we’re your friends.” His voice wavered, “All of us. And… a lot has happened in the past few months. I know it’s gonna be really hard to trust us, and I know you’re probably really scared right now, but we can help you. We can tell you everything that happened. I just need you to trust us.” He took Impulse by both hands, and pleaded with him.

“Tell me your names.” He whispered, “Let’s… let’s start with names.”

Zedaph smiled, slowly guiding Impulse to the log bench, and introducing everyone. And as the night dragged on, the Architechs, Zedaph, and Tango relayed to their friend the tales of every Hermitcraft season- every prank, every build, and every shop they could remember- every magic contract, every incident, and even the entire Demon debacle. 

And in the early hours of the morning, when Grian had headed to bed in his RV, and Iskall and Mumbo had returned to their houses in New Hermitville for the night, Zedaph finished the story. Impulse frowned, looking into the blazing fire as they fell into silence.

“Those aren’t my memories.” He said in a whisper.

“It’s what happened, honestly.” Tango shrugged.

“Yeah, but… I… I don’t remember it. What kinda name is Impulse, anyway?” He chuckled, “And all these… people you say are my friends. I can’t even remember their names. That tall guy, with the mustache and the suit. I know he’s Mumbo, but the short one. Uh… I wanna say Sam?”

“That’s Grian.” Zedaph smiled.

“Right. I just… I don’t think I can adjust to this. You said I died, didn’t you?” Impulse continued.

“Yeah.”

“...Then why am I here?”

And they didn’t have a response for that.

Impulse frowned when the silence fell. He was still obviously uncomfortable, and reached his hand out to the fire as a naive child would. They were back together, but it wasn’t right. Despite being told everything that had happened, it was clear he still didn’t believe it.

And yet, in his head- in the back of his mind, Impulse  _ knew  _ he’d picked ‘The Third Option’. And whatever ‘The Third’ was, he knew it had led directly to his memory loss, and he knew… 

Whatever there was in this world, he knew that if he’d chosen The Third for it, it was worth staying for.


	46. Team ZIT

A month and a half had passed since Impulse reappeared. He’d been reintroduced to everyone on the server- though he had a habit of quickly forgetting their names. Still though, he remembered nothing- not even anything to do with redstone.

That, apparently, was what scared Doc the most- and he’d had many days when they’d got together and he’d tried to teach Impulse how to do redstone again, and failed to some extent. They hadn’t managed to get past double piston extenders.

He’d spent most of his days walking around the world, trying and failing to remember any of his projects. It failed to such an extent that multiple times, a Hermit would find him sitting in front of one of his builds, crying. It was clear the pain of not remembering anything was hurting deep.

He’d become close to Doc, Mumbo, Zedaph, and Tango above all- following them around when he wasn’t trying to remember. He was much like a child, though, asking simple questions about the world, and things  _ anyone  _ would know. And that was where he was a month and a half after reappearing- following Zedaph and Tango around as they worked on a farm.

Impulse sat on a stack of chests, watching as the strangers he called friends fiddled with a redstone circuit he didn’t understand. He felt out of place, responding with half sentences every time they sent a quip over his way. He loved how they were trying to include him, but was struggling to feel a part of it.

“Hey Impy, can you hand me a dropper?” Tango jogged over to the chests and waited in suspense.

“Uh-? Yeah, yeah. Sure.” He opened the chest beneath him and started to rummage through the contents. And he had no idea what he was doing.

After about 3 minutes of trying to remember what a dropper was, he reappeared with what he thought was the item, and handed it out to Tango. Tango looked at it and back up to Impulse, snickering.

“Impulse, that’s a comparator.” He raised an eyebrow.

“Oh…” Impulse felt his face flush up in embarrassment and he turned back to the chest. Tango put a hand on his shoulder and lightly pulled him away, finding the component himself, “I’m sorry Tango.”

“It’s okay, dude! Don’t sweat it.” Tango responded.

“It’s not okay.”

Tango turned around, worry crossing his face. He called Zedaph over, and made all of them sit down on the floor. 

“I’m supposed to be good at this.” Impulse whispered, “Aren’t I?”

“Well… supposed to is a strong word. You’re not supposed to be good at anything. It’s all your choice, yeah?”

“But I  _ was  _ good at this. And now I’m not.” He pouted.

“Doc’s been giving you lessons, hasn’t he? You’re getting there, buddy.”

Impulse’s face twisted at the friendly word, still feeling as though he was in the company of strangers,

“I still don’t even know what a comparator does. Every time he explains it I just… blank.”

“Gonna be real honest with you, Impulse.” Tango smirked, “I don’t even think I could explain what a comparator does. It just does.”

That coaxed a giggle from Impulse, who sighed and nervously smiled. Zedaph looked into his eyes with a raised eyebrow and interrupted the nice moment, however,

“You’re thinking about something.” He said, “Like you usually do. You’re overthinking about it to the point where it’s hurting your head, right? And the pressure is building behind your eyes like it does sometimes.”

“I hate how well you know me.” Impulse sighed, “You all feel like strangers casting some mind reading spell on me. You know me down to my  _ headaches _ . It’s… creepy.”

“I can imagine it doesn’t feel too good, But we aren’t strangers, you know?” Tango shrugged.

“Yeah. So you keep telling me.”

“What’s going on in that head of yours, Impulse?” Zedaph asked, “What are you thinking about?”

“Well…” He drew his arms around himself, running his fingers across the red markings on his hands, “I’ve been thinking. I’m obviously not getting my memories back, and although you’ve told me all of the things I’ve done, none of it feels mine. I feel like I’m stealing someone else’s identity. What if… what if I’m not Impulse? What if I just look like him?”

Tango chuckled,

“Even if you’re not him, you overthink like he does.” He stood up, wandering around the circle, “You walk like him, you speak like him. If you’re not him, I’d be surprised that such a perfect double could exist..”

“I know that… even if I’m doubting this for ages, you guys will be here for me.” Impulse softly smiled, “And although you feel like strangers, my heart’s telling me you’re not. Even memory loss can’t stop Team ZIT, hey?”

Tango let out a cry, tripping over and falling. In the wake of the fall and the laughter, he looked to his friends with a surprised look.

“Team  _ what _ ?”

“Have you lost your memory too?” Impulse snickered, “We’ve been called that for years.”

“Yeah, but neither Zedaph or I has told you that. D-Did Doc tell you our team name?”

“No…” He brought his hand to his chin, “I don’t think anyone did.”

“Ho-ly crap, Impy!” Tango exclaimed, standing back up, “No one told you, but you remembered it! What if you’re remembering everything?”

“I wouldn’t go that far-”

“Dude this is amazing!” He laughed, running over to his friend and practically picking him up to his feet.

The three friends laughed, rejoicing nonsensically over the memory of something so simple. Through the months and months of turmoil- the false pretences of finished conflict; the pain and fear of losing so much- everything was okay. Truly, for the first time- nothing in the way of sadness. Ecstasy and pure unfiltered joy rushed through them as they realised life would return to normal.

It was going to be a new normal, however. They’d all been unequivocally changed by the past events, and would move forward with a new sense of strength and respectfulness for everything they had, and everything they were. 

New normal or not, they were happy.

They were content.

And it was okay.


	47. Postlogue- A Gift

The Void chuckled, turning away from the world to look at his two companions. They too smiled with the knowledge of content.

“For a second there, I thought he was regretting choosing the Third Option.”

“It wasn’t necessarily an option until he forced your hand, Void.” The Vex smirked, “And once again your humanity has let you give him  _ another  _ gift.”

“He was miserable, Vex, you cannot blame The Void.” The Flame spoke with a shrug.

“Well aren’t you quite the philanthropist, Flame. It appears Tango’s little… outburst really got to you.”

The Flame fell into silence, nodding. The Vex continued,

“I am right in believing that was you, yes, Void?”

“Yes.”

“Why that? Why the memory of a silly team name?” The Vex asked, “Why not gift him the memory of his friends?”

“Anything more and his mind would’ve shattered.” The Void said, sitting down.

“So the name won’t spur on anything more?” The Flame asked.

“No. no. Impulse will never remember anything more than that. He’s been told of his memories, and he may come to forge his own interpretation of them, but they will never truly be in his mind. It’s best that way.”

“And why did Ren’s mind survive further than Impulse’s?”

“Impulse made a deal with The Bloody One. Just as Scar still has lingering pain from his deal with a Demon. It invaded every part of his body, causing chaos and wreck to every molecule. The only reason Scar came out of it better was because of his natural affinity to magic- something Impulse doesn’t have.”

The Void smirked,

“The world shall heal under the hands of the Hermits, just as it always does. And we shall watch over them once again, ready to help if danger strikes.”

Four deities sat in the darkness of the void, benevolent silence tipping the atmosphere into regions of warmth. There was nothing on their minds but love towards each other, and their world.


End file.
